Uļjana Larionovna Semjonova (russian: Ульяна Ларионовна Семёнова, Ul'yana Larionovna Semyonova; born 9 March 1952) is a retired

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who competed for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Standing at least Semjonova was the leading

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

player in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Wearing a men's size 21 (US) / 58 (EU) shoe, she was known for having the largest feet ever in women's basketball. For almost all of her playing career, she played for

TTT Riga TTT Rīga is a professional women's basketball club based in Riga, Latvia. "TTT" means Tram and Trolley Trust. The team held its first official game on 5 November 1958. The next 25 years are known as the ''First Golden age'' of the club. Internati ...

, which was part of Daugava Voluntary Sports Society. With TTT, she won 15 championships in the Soviet Union and the European Champion's Cup 15 times. Semjonova was also very dominant in international play, winning two Olympic Gold medals while playing for the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and never lost a game in official international competition. She was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

in 1976, and in 1993 became the first non-US woman enshrined into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. She was an inaugural member of the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in the class of 1999. In 2007, she was enshrined in the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

. During the 2007 Latvian sports personality of the year award ceremony, Semjonova received the Lifetime Contribution to Sport award.

References

External links

* * *
Uljana Semjonova, the soviet paving roller of 2,13 meters
www.abc.es/historia (Spanish) * http://www.encancha.com/fotos/foto23810.html At Tintoretto Getafe in the 1987-88 league. * *
Hoopedia bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semjonova, Uljana 1952 births Living people People from Zarasai Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Latvian people of Russian descent Latvian women's basketball players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic basketball players of the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball People from Daugavpils Municipality Russians in Latvia Russian women's basketball players Soviet women's basketball players Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics