Tolstikov rose to worldwide prominence following his surprise upset of favorite Gelindo Bordin in the 1991 London Marathon.
[1][2] He set a personal best of 2:09:17 hours at the race which went unbeaten as a Soviet record.
[4][5] In international competition he represented the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, coming in a distant 22nd.
[6] He twice ran at the World Championships in Athletics, coming eleventh in 1987 but failing to finish in 1991.
[8] He was a one-time national champion, winning the marathon at the Soviet Athletics Championships in 1988.