Timur Safin Bio: Early Life, Olympics & Military

Timur Safin is 31 years old professional Russian fencer. Moreover, he has specialized in foil which also happens to be the weapon choice in Ufa.

He is yet to win a gold in the world championship. However, he has already clinched Olympic gold medal with the Russian team foil event in Rio 2016.

Likewise, he also has won one silver and bronze medal each in the Olympics. 

He is a private person and doesn’t like to bring his personal life into his professional fencing career. 

Safin also serves his country in Armed Forces. Moreover, he represents the Central Sports army club in national events. 

Besides, fencing he likes snowboarding and spends some quality time in nature.

To find more about Timur Safin, stay with us. Now let’s have a look at quick facts before diving into the article. 

Quick Facts

Timur Safin | Family Background 

Timur Safin was born on 4th August 1992 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Later, in 2001 his family moved to Russia. 

He is a kind of private person and separates his personal and professional life.

So, details regarding his family members are still unknown. However, his parents have already retired and do not work nowadays. 

In an interview in 2016, Timur Safin mentioned his family is very important and has a close relationship with his mother.

Safin also said he purchased his first gift for his mother at 16 after winning prize money in the Paris event.

Likewise, Timur added he loves everything his mother cooks for him. So, in the future, he wants a wife with tasty cooking skills. 

As of now, he is still single and not in a hurry to marry. However, he describes beautiful, smart, economical, and sports girls as his dream wife. 

Safin also serves the Russian Air Force. After getting the silver medal in Tokyo Olympics, he was recently promoted to the senior lieutenant rank. 

During his free time, he likes snowboarding. He grew in a Ufa, Bashkortostan, where there are many snowboarding areas. So, it is common why Safin likes the sport.

Similarly, he likes spending quality time in nature and fishing with friends to spend his time off from fencing. 

Body Measurements & Ethnicity

The Olympian is of Tatar ethnicity. They are an ethnic group that is native to the Volga-Ural historical region of Russia. 

Besides, Russia most of the Tatar ethnicity lives in Uzbekistan, where he was born. 

Similarly, talking of his body measurement, he stands 6 feet (1.82 cm) tall and weighs around 82kg (181 lbs). Likewise, his BMI is 24.5. 

How did he get into fencing?

After moving to Russia in 2001, Timur Safin’s fencing career began at 9 years old, studying in third grade.

One day his first coaches Farit Arslanov and Vil Nagimov, gave presentations and talked interesting things about fencing. 

As it was a new and interesting topic, he got amazed. Likewise, one of the famous movies, The Three Musketeers, was also played on television channels.

Although fencing was not popular at that time, he enjoyed fencing after looking at the Musketeers.

Safin also mentions he always wanted to feel fighters’ emotions on the battlefield, and Musketeers encourage him to take fencing. 

After being inspired by his coach’s presentation and movies, he started his fencing training.

Since Safin did not want to be in the crowd, he didn’t play football or hockey.

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Timur Safin | Olympics Career

2016 Rio Olympics

Timur Safin made his Olympics debut at Rio 2016 Olympic games.

In an individual event, he defeated his fellow Russian teammate Aleksey Cheremisinov to advance into round 16. Safin secured victory with a score of 15-10.

Likewise, in the next round, he faced Britain James Davis. He overcame the fight with a 15-13 score.

Later, in the quarterfinals, he defeated Chinese Chen Haiwei with a 15-7 score to advance into the event semis. 

However, in the semis, Safin faced eventual champion Daniele Garozzo and was handed a 15-8 defeat.

But he still had a chance to finish in the podium position. Later, Safin handed Britain Richard Kruse a 15-13 loss in the third-place match and won the bronze medal. 

Although his dream of winning the individual gold medal was over with a loss in the semis, Safin still had a shot to finish at the top.

In the team event, his national side Russia defeated Great Britain 45-43 in the quarter-finals. Later, in the semis, they overcame the USA with a 45-41 score. 

Safin got his hand to his first and only Olympic gold medal when Russia defeated France in the finals. They defeated the French side by a 45-41 score. 

2021 Tokyo Olympics

In 2016, World Anti-Doping Agency conducted research against Russia. Later, they found that the Russian government is running a nation-sponsored doping program. 

The Olympic and Para Olympic Committee decided to ban Russia from Summer Olympics.

However, athletics were given a chance to represent under Russian Olympic Committee. 

So, Timur Safin made his journey to Tokyo Olympics to defend his team’s men’s foil title. 

In the quarterfinal, ROC defeated Hongkongby 45-39 to enter into the next round.

Later, in the semis, just like in 2016, the Safin side managed to defeat the USA again by 45-41. 

However, they suffered a 45-41 loss in the finals against the French side, whom they have defeated in Rio Olympics. 

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Timur Safin | Income Source

Unlike other sports, fencing is a niche sport. As a result, some Olympic medal winners like Timur Safin are paid by companies for advertisement. 

But Safin has not disclosed the information about his sponsor or partners to any sources. 

Likewise, some clubs also offer them certain money to represent their club. However, most fencing athletes play just for the love of the game.

Besides, fencing Safin also serves for the Russian Air Force. So, he is recruited by Central Sports Army Club.

But the salary of Safin is not published anywhere. However, looking into various online sources, on average Russian army officer earns 30,000 rubles ($500) monthly. 

So, his estimated salary may also be in a similar value. He has also competed in many international tournaments and won plenty of those. 

Prize Money

Sadly, the fencing governing body International Fencing Federation doesn’t hand out prize money to these athletes. 

Although there is no standard for prize money bonuses, some tournament hosts and sponsors hand out winners cash prizes. 

But, details regarding the prize money handed to fencing world cups or Grandprix winners are not found anywhere. 

So, it is difficult to disclose the earning he has made winning multiple international competitions. 

However, like money nations, Russia also hands out bonus prize money to Olympic medalists. 

Safin earned $61,000 for his gold medal and $26,000 for his bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Likewise, Russian president Vladimir Putin also awarded them with expensive luxurious cars. 

Safin also earned an Order of Friendship from the honorable president after winning the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics. 

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he won the silver medal. But as athletics did not represent the Russian flag, their prize money is not revealed yet. 

Timur Safin’s net worth is valued at around $100k to $500k. However, it’s not the exact figure as it is estimated looking into various online sites.

Timur Safin is a private person and likes to separate his personal and professional life. Moreover, his social media handles are related to his professional life only.

In addition, both of his social media handles, Instagram and Facebook are private accounts.

Likewise, Safin has about 1k followers on Instagram and 1.5k friends on his Facebook. 

Similarly, he likes to post updates about fencing-related competitions and train only on his social media platforms. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Russian athlete represent the ROC in Tokyo Olympics?

In 2019 Russia was banned from taking part in the Olympics for 4 years after being found guilty of a nation-sponsored doping program. 

However, their athletes were allowed to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee banner.

How many Olympic medals have Timur Safin won?

Timur Safin made his Olympic debut in 2016 at Rio Olympics. Later, he won the gold medal in team men’s foil and a bronze medal in individual men’s foil. 

Likewise, in the recent 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Safin earned a silver medal at the team’s men’s foil event. 

Who are Timur Safin parents?

Timur Safin is private person. Moreover, he likes to separate his professional life from his personal life.

So, Safin has not revealed the name of his parents or any information related to his personal life.