Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan (russian: Игорь Арамович Тер-Ованесян, born 19 May 1938) is a Ukrainian former competitor and coach in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. Competing for the Soviet Union, he was a five-time European and two-time Olympic medalist in this event. In 1985 he was awarded the

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

Early life

Ter-Ovanesyan was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

to an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n discus thrower, Aram Avetisovich Ter-Ovanesyan, and a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

volleyball player, Valentina Ilinskaya. His parents met at the Kyiv State Institute of Physical Education, where they both taught sports-related topics.

Career

Ter-Ovanesyan took up athletics when he was 15, and within two years was included to the Soviet national team. Ter-Ovanesyan trained at Burevestnik, first in Kiev, later in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, and then in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He holds a PhD and a title of Professor at the Department of Athletics, Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. He published several sports-related books in Russian. Ter-Ovanesyan won Olympic bronze medals at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome – with a jump of 8.04 meters – and at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

in Tokyo – with a jump of 7.99 meters. He also competed at the 1956, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished fourth in 1968. At the European Championships he won outdoor gold medals in 1958, 1962 and 1969, and an indoor silver medal in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. Ter-Ovanesyan became the first European long jumper to break the 8 meter barrier. He broke the European long jump record eight times and the world long jump record twice. In 1963, he won the United States Indoor Championships. Ter-Ovanesyan had the annual world's best long jumps in 1962, 1966, 1967 and 1969. After retiring from competitions, Ter-Ovanesyan became a national coach. His pupils included

Ineta Radēviča Ineta Radēviča (born 13 July 1981 in Krāslava, Soviet Union) is a retired Latvian athlete, competing in the long jump and triple jump. Radēviča won the bronze medal in the 2003 European U-23 championship. She has also won two NCAA champio ...

, Valery Podluzhny,

Vilma Bardauskienė Vilhelmina "Vilma" Bardauskienė (born 15 June 1953) is a former long jumper from Lithuania, who represented the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She twice set the women's world record in the long jump, and won the European title in ...

and

Tatyana Kolpakova Tatyana Alekseyevna Kolpakova (Abbyasova) (russian: Татьяна Алексеевна Колпакова (Аббясова)) (born October 18, 1959 in village Alamedin, Kyrgyz SSR) is a retired long jumper who represented the USSR. Kolpakov ...

. In 1983–1989 he headed the Soviet track and field team (with a help of state-sponsored steroid program). In February 2017, Ter-Ovanesyan held a press conference in

, during which he said that East German successes due to state-sponsored doping are legitimate results of "good pharmacology" and should not be condemned.

Results

Olympics

* 1960

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

: Bronze with 8.04 m behind

Ralph Boston Ralph Harold Boston (born May 9, 1939) is a retired American track athlete who received three Olympic medals and became the first person to break the barrier in the long jump. Early years and education Boston was born in Laurel, Mississippi. ...

(USA) with 8.12 m and Bo Roberson (USA) with 8.11 m. * 1964

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

: Bronze with 7.99 m behind Great Britain's

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. He was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athlet ...

with 8.07 m and

(USA) with 8.03 m * 1968

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

: Fourth with 8.12 m behind

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by a ...

(USA) with 8.90 m,

Klaus Beer Klaus Beer (14 November 1942 – 8 June 2023) was a track and field athlete active in the 1960s for East Germany. Beer is best known for having won the silver medal in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics, well behind Bob Beamon's record s ...

( GDR) with 8.19 m and

(USA) with 8.16 m.

European Championships

* 1958

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

: Gold with 7.81 m before

Kazimierz Kropidłowski Kazimierz Kropidłowski (16 August 1931 – 20 December 1998) was a Polish long jumper. He was born in Starogard Gdański. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm' ...

with 7.67 m and Henryk Grabowski with 7.51 m . * 1962

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

: Gold with 8.19 m before Rainer Stenius and

Pentti Eskola Pentti Elias Eskola (8 January 1883 – 6 December 1964) was a Finnish geologist who specialised in the petrology of granites and developed the concept of metamorphic facies. He won the Wollaston Medal in 1958, the Vetlesen Prize in 1964, a ...

, both with 7.85 m * 1966

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

: Silver with 7.88 m behind

with 7.98 m and before Jean Cochard with 7.88 m * 1969

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

: Gold with 8.17 m before

with 8.07 m and

Tõnu Lepik Tõnu Lepik (born 1 May 1946 in Tallinn) is an Estonian former long jumper who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He won the 1970 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1970 European Athletics Indoor Champ ...

with 8.04 m * 1971

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

: Silver with 7.91 m behind Max Klauss with 7.92 m and before Stanisław Szudrowicz with 7.87 m

World records

*8.31 metres on 10 July 1962 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

*8.35 metres on 19 October 1967 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Defection target

On the eve of the Rome Olympics, athlete

Dave Sime David William Sime (; July 25, 1936 – January 12, 2016) was an American sprinter, multi-sport athlete at Duke University, and a pioneering ophthalmologist. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1960 Olympic Games. He held sever ...

of the USA was approached by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and recruited to help secure Ter-Ovanesyan's

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

. Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.

Personal life

Ter-Ovanesyan has been married twice. His first marriage was to Margarita Yurievna Yemelyanova. They had a son, Igor (b. 1963), and a daughter, Karen (b. 1967). His second marriage was to Olga Arturovna Klein. In 1982, they had a daughter, Jana Igorevna Klein.

Notes

References

* * Maraniss, David (2008). ''Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World''. New York, Simon & Schuster. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ter-Ovanesyan, Igor 1938 births Living people Sportspeople from Kyiv Ukrainian male long jumpers Soviet male long jumpers Soviet athletics coaches Ukrainian athletics coaches Olympic male long jumpers Olympic athletes of the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1961 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1963 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade European Athletics Championships medalists Japan Championships in Athletics winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Burevestnik (sports society) athletes Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Russian people of Armenian descent Ukrainian people of Armenian descent Soviet Armenians