Sergey Pesterev

Born in Kharkiv in what is now Ukraine, Sergey Pesterev lived most of his life in Sevastopol together with his mother and brother. His mother owned large vineyards on the Crimean Peninsula and his brother a great wine store. In 1912, Pesterev finished third in the Crimean championship in the 90 km road race. In the same year, he competed in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, but abandoned the race between Södertälje and Läggesta, after approximately 60 km. The Russian team was not counted for the team event, as only one member finished the race. Pesterev then took part in the First and Second All-Russian Olympiads (1913, 1914).

Pesterev was also an avid football player and organizer. He was one of the founders of the Sevastopol Circle of Sports Enthusiasts and of the All-Russian Football Union (VFS) in 1912.

In 1929, he was sentenced to three years of exile as a Kulak due to his family background. Subsequently, he lived in Yalta on the Crimea and worked as a weed harvester for the district consumer union. He was arrested again in 1938 and two years later sentenced to five years of correctional labour as a member of the German philatelic society “Concordia”. He died in prison in 1942 but was rehabilitated in 1999. Pesterev remained unmarried.