Born: 31 March 1971

Birthplace: Moscow (Russia)

Nationality: Russia

Sport: Ice Hockey

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Nagano 1998

Salt Lake City 2002

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Silver: 1

Bronze: 1

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 1 (90)

Bronze: 1 (91)

The Russian rocket

Pavel Bure first came to international attention when he was chosen the top forward at the Ice Hockey World Junior Championships in 1989. The following year, along with his brother Valeri and their father, Bure moved to the North America to pursue a professional career.

Playing for the Vancouver Canucks, Bure led the National Hockey League (NHL) in scoring in 1993-1994. Representing Russia at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Bure was the leading scorer in the tournament with 9 goals. His most spectacular performance took place in Russia's semifinal match against Finland when he scored 5 goals to lead his team to a 7-4 victory. Russia lost to the Czech Republic 1-0 in the final.

After the Olympics, Bure switched his NHL affiliation to the Florida Panthers and in 1999-2000 he again led the league in scoring. He and Valeri also set a season record for most goals by a pair of brothers (93). Pavel fractured his hand less than six weeks before the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, but he insisted on playing anyway. He appeared in every one of Russia's games and helped the team to a third-place finish.