Rowing for Gold

Rowing for Gold is a 2025 Russian sports war film directed by Artyom Mikhalkov, tells the story of Soviet rower Yuriy Tyukalov, played by Gleb Kalyuzhny. The film is based on real events and tells the story of how the athlete survived the Siege of Leningrad and subsequently became the first Soviet Olympic champion in rowing.
Rowing for Gold premiered at the "Karo 11 October" at Arbat Square in Moscow on October 1, 2025, and was theatrically released in Russia on October 9, by Central Partnership.

Plot

The film tells the story of a young man named Yura Tyukalov, who, after surviving the war, turned to sports. He met with coaches who helped him start anew. Now, he has a goal: to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Cast

Gleb Kalyuzhny as Yuriy Tyukalov, a rower
Andrey Smolyakov as Ivan Kolosov, an experienced coach
Artyom Bystrov as Mikhail Savrimovich, a coach
Elena Lyadova as Vera Savrimovich, a coach
Vladimir Ilin as Ilyich, a guard and Yura Tyukalov's mentor
Aleksey Kravchenko as Colonel Levitin
Anton Filipenko as Sergey Petrovich
Irina Pautova as Shura Chirikova, Yura Tyukalov's girlfriend
Ivan Stebunov as Pavel, Shura's fried
Anton Savvatimov as Sokolov
Aleksey Timoshenko as Solyanykh
Ilya Yakubovsky as Ivanitsky
Guram Bablishvili as Chikhladze
Ilya Gontash as Makarov
Timofey Motoshim as Petrov
Production

Filming

began in August 2024, in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, Vyborg, Moscow and Sochi.

Release

Theatrical

Rowing for Gold had its world premiere took place on October 1, 2025, at their “Karo 11 October” cinema center on New Arbat Avenue in Moscow. The film was released in the Russian Federation on October 9, by Central Partnership.