Gusman Kosanov

Gusman Sittykovich Kosanov (Kazakh: Ғұсман Сыйттықұлы Қосанов, Russian: Гусман Ситтыкович Косанов; 25 May 1935 – 19 July 1990) was a Kazakh sprinter. He completed for the Soviet Union at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, in the individual 100 m and 4×100 m relay. He failed to reach the individual finals, but won a silver medal in the relay in 1960, becoming the first ethnic Kazakh athlete to win an Olympic medal.[1][3]

Gusman Kosanov

Kosanov on a 1999 stamp of Kazakhstan
Personal information
Born	25 May 1935 Izatulla, Kazakh ASSR, Soviet Union
Died	19 July 1990 (aged 55) Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 m
Club	Armed Forces Society Alma-Ata
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 10.2 (1962)[1][2]
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1960 Rome 4×100 m

Kosanov took up athletics in 1951. He won the Soviet title in the 4×100 m relay in 1960 and placed second in 1964; in the individual 100 m he finished second in 1966 and third in 1963. He retired in 1967 to work as an athletics coach in Kazakhstan. Kosanov hanged himself in July 1990 after he was diagnosed with diabetes and fired from his job as a director of a sports school in Alma-Ata.[1] After his death, an annual athletic meet has been held in Almaty in his honor.[3]