These days, you don’t need to be an Olympian, world champion, or record setter to build a massive following in the running world. There are countless superlatives out there to distinguish oneself—including becoming an age group titleholder, and notching specific and peculiar deficit-wins for races completed after pounding beers, downing doughnuts, or wearing blue jeans. Since graduating from dental school in June, Dr. Deniss Salmijanov, a 24-year-old middle distance runner from Estonia, has unofficially claimed the unique title of “world’s fastest dentist.”
Salmijanov is no slouch on the track; when he says fast, he means it. He has an 800-meter personal best of 1:47, and is a two-time national indoor track champion. Last week, the 6’4 runner competed at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China—an international multi-sport event for university athletes. He attended a training camp at altitude to adjust to Chengdu’s high elevation, but ultimately did not advance to the 800-meter final, finishing fourth in the semi-final with a time of 1:48.40. Salmijanov wasn’t just there for the race though. After creating an account last year on Douyin, a Chinese social media platform similar to TikTok, he quickly gained a new audience—he has over 2 million followers there, and competing at the FISU World University Games gave him a chance to connect in person with some of his fans.
On all of Salminjanov’s accounts, he documents both of his passions, dentistry and running. He got into dental school at the University of Tartu in 2017 and officially completed his education this summer, but he mostly shares his running life with fans, like his experience at a training camp in Kenya and plenty of videos of speedy track sessions at altitude and idyllic views of long legged efforts in the snow.
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Is Dr. Salmijanov truly the fastest dentist in the world? Maybe, maybe not. But the people love him, and no other oral hygiene experts have challenged him yet, so the title holds for now.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
