In the 50 km race he finished two and half minutes ahead of the second place.

[1] He also won the 30 km event at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and was awarded Order of Friendship of Peoples that year.

[2] At the world championships Zimyatov won only one medal, a silver over 30 km in 1978.

After retiring from competitions he had a long career as a cross-country skiing coach and prepared the Russian team for the 2002 Olympics.

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).