Volodymyr Stepanovych Holubnychy ( ua, Володимир Степанович Голубничий; also spelt Vladimir Golubnichy, 2 June 1936 – 16 August 2021) was a Soviet and Ukrainian

race walker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...

, who competed for the Soviet Union. He dominated the 20 kilometre race walk in the 1960s and 1970s, winning four Olympic medals from 1960 to 1972 and finishing seventh in 1976.Vladimir Golubnichy
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' He became Olympic champion in 1960 and 1968. He is regarded as one of the greatest race walkers of all time and competed at the Olympics on five occasions in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976.

Biography

He was born on 2 June 1936 and raised in Sumy, where he lived throughout his life.

Career

Holubnychy initially pursued his interest in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and later took up race walking in 1953. He was convinced to take up the sport of race walking by former Soviet Union weightlifting champion Zosima Petrovich who was one of his lecturers at the Kyiv Physical Education Institute. He had joined the Kyiv Physical Education Institute in 1953 with the intention of becoming a ski instructor. He rose to prominence after breaking the world record in men's 20 km in 1955 at the age of 19. However, he was not selected for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne after being diagnosed with a serious liver infection. He was believed to have afflicted with liver infection due to his malnourished childhood during World War II. He recovered successfully after undergoing rehabilitation for a year and returned to race walking. He reclaimed the world title in men's 20 km race walk in 1958 with a record time of 1:27:04; this record remained unbroken for nearly a decade. He became a member of the Soviet team in 1959. He clinched gold medal 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 the men's 20 km walk event on his Olympic debut which literally took everyone by surprise given his fifth place finish in a trial race which was held prior to the Olympic final. He was unable to defend his Olympic title in 20 km walk event 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 ...

and had to settle for the bronze medal. During the 1964 Olympics, he suffered from headaches soon after the start of the 20 km final and also reportedly fell on the road in the middle of the race walk final. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, he became Olympic champion again and also won his second Olympic gold medal. He could not retain his Olympic title at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, settling for a silver medal in the 20 km walk. Apart from his outstanding performance at the Olympics, he was the 1974 European Champion and the Soviet champion in 1960, 1964–65, 1968, 1972 and 1974. He was past his prime when he competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics 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 Phi ...

, which was his fifth and final Olympic appearance. He completed the race walk with a duration of 1:29:24 and was placed at seventh position in the final. After his retirement, he competed at international masters events during the 1990s after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. Holubnychy was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1960, the Order of the Badge of Honour in 1969 and the Medal "For Labour Valour" in 1972. He was inducted to the

IAAF Hall of Fame The IAAF Hall of Fame was established by the International Association of Athletics Federations (since 2019: ''World Athletics'') in 2012. It is intended to honor individuals who have made valuable contributions in the sport of athletics both inter ...

on 15 September 2012.

Death

He died on 16 August 2021, two months after his 85th birthday.

References

External links

Sporting Heroes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holubnychy, Volodymyr 1936 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Sumy Soviet male racewalkers Ukrainian male racewalkers Olympic athletes of the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 1st class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour 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 Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners Soviet Athletics Championships winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Spartak athletes Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

Biography

Career

Death

See also

References

External links