Born in the village of Ulitino in Staritsky District of Tver Oblast, Yuri Mikhaylov took up boxing when he was young and in 1949, he became champion of Kalininsky District of Tver Oblast.

At the country's Junior Championships, he then won a bronze medal and it seemed that Mikhaylov had a nice future in boxing ahead of him.

Early 1955, during races on the Medeo rink of Alma-Ata, he finished 2nd on the 1500 m behind Yevgeny Grishin who won the 1500 m in a new world-record time.

At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, he participated in the 500 m, but he fell and did not finish.

In the next pair, Mikhaylov equalled Grishin's time and they shared Olympic gold.