{{short description|Russian canoeist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Infobox sportsperson |name= |nickname= |image =Maxim Opalev 01.jpg | image_size = |caption= |birth_date= {{birth-date and age|4 April 1979}} |birth_place= Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | death_date = | death_place = | height = 184 cm | weight = 93 kg |sport=Canoe sprint |event= |club= Spartak Voronezh |pb= |alma_mater= | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{RUS}}}} {{Medal|Comp|Olympic Games}} {{Medal|Gold|2008 Beijing|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2000 Sydney|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|2004 Athens|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Comp|World Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|1998 Szeged|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Gold|1999 Milan|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Gold|1999 Milan|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Gold|1999 Milan|C-1 1000 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2001 Poznań|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2002 Seville|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2002 Seville|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2002 Seville|C-4 200 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2003 Gainesville|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2005 Zagreb|C-4 200 m}} {{Medal|Gold|2006 Szeged|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Silver|1997 Dartmouth|C-4 1000 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2001 Poznań|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2002 Seville|C-1 1000 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2003 Gainesville|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2005 Zagreb|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2007 Dusiburg|C-1 200 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|2001 Poznań|C-4 200 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|2003 Gainesville|C-1 1000 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|2005 Zagreb|C-1 500 m}} {{Medal|Disqualified|2003 Gainesville|C-4 200 m}} {{Medal|Disqualified|2003 Gainesville|C-4 500 m}} }}
'''Maksim Alexandrovich Opalev''' ({{langx|ru|Максим Александрович Опалев}}; born 4 April 1979) is a retired Russian sprint canoeist. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he has won a complete set of medals in the C-1 500 m event (gold: 2008, silver: 2000, bronze: 2004).<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/op/maksim-opalev-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417215232/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/op/maksim-opalev-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Maksim Opalev}}</ref>
Opalev's potential was evident when he won two gold medals as a sixteen-year-old at the 1995 World Junior Championships in Yamanashi, Japan. Competing against opponents two years older than himself he won the C-2 1000 m title (with Konstantin Fomichev) as well as the C-4 500 m gold. At the next edition of the world junior championships, in Lahti, Finland, in 1997, Opalev won the C-1 1000 m title.
At the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Opalev has won 20 medals between 1997 and 2007. This includes eleven golds (C-1 200 m: 1999, 2002, 2003; C-1 500 m: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006; C-1 1000 m: 1999, C-4 200 m: 2002, 2005), six silvers (C-1 200 m: 2001, 2005, 2007; C-1 500 m: 2003, C-1 1000 m: 2002, C-4 1000 m: 1997), and three bronzes (C-1 500 m: 2005, C-1 1000 m: 2003, C-4 200 m: 2001). Opalev also won two more medals at the 2003 world championships in Gainesville, Georgia, United States with golds in the C-4 200 m and C-4 500 m events, but were stripped of those medals when teammate Sergey Ulegin failed a doping test.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Maxim Opalev}} *{{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105013709/http://canoeicf.com/site/canoeint/if/downloads/result/Pages%201-41%20from%20Medal%20Winners%20ICF%20updated%202007-2.pdf?MenuID=Results%2F1107%2F0%2CMedal%5Fwinners%5Fsince%5F1936%2F1510%2F0 |date=2010-01-05 |title=ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936–2007 }} *{{Webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5l9vPO85Y?url=http://www.canoeicf.com/site/canoeint/if/downloads/result/Pages%2042-83%20from%20Medal%20Winners%20ICF%20updated%202007.pdf?MenuID=Results%2F1107%2F0%2CMedal%5Fwinners%5Fsince%5F1936%2F1510%2F0 |date=2009-11-09 |title=ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936–2007}} {{Footer Olympic Champions C-1 500 m}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint C-1 200 m Men}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint C-1 500 m Men}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint C-1 1000 m Men}} {{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint C-4 200 m Men}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Opalev, Maksim}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic canoeists for Russia Category:Olympic gold medalists for Russia Category:Olympic silver medalists for Russia Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Category:Sportspeople from Volgograd Category:Russian male canoeists Category:Olympic medalists in canoeing Category:ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:20th-century Russian sportsmen