Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( uk, Володимир Петрович Куц, russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 Olympics, setting Olympic records in both events.

Biography

Kuts was born in Oleksyne,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

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 ...

. His father died due to alcoholism when Kuts was five years old. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he falsified his age and served two years with the Soviet Army as a courier. He took up running after the war, while continuing his military service as a navy

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

. In 1951 he won his first national titles, in the 5000 and 10000 m, an achievement he repeated in 1953–1956. His first international success came in 1954, when he defeated the favourites –

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final m ...

and

Christopher Chataway Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician. Education He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...

– in the 5000 m at the European Championships, setting a new world record. He lost the world record months later to Chataway (who beat him narrowly), only to take it back 10 days later. Having lost his world record again in 1955, Kuts was still one of the favourites 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 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. His chief opponent in the 5000 m was British runner

Gordon Pirie Douglas Alistair Gordon Pirie (10 February 1931 – 7 December 1991) was an English long-distance runner. He competed in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a silver medal in the 5000 m in 1956, placing fo ...

, who had broken the world record earlier that year. However, Kuts had set a new

10,000 metres world record The official world records in the 10,000 metres are held by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei with 26:11.00 minutes for men and Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey with 29:01.03 for women. The first world record in the men's 10,000 metres was recognized by the Inte ...

shortly before the Games. In the first final, the 10,000 m, Kuts – as always – led from the start, finally breaking Pirie's spirit 4 laps from the end and winning by a wide margin. He broke away from Pirie with a final, desperate sprint, and admitted later that had Pirie stayed with him on that sprint, he might have dropped out due to fatigue. The 5,000 m final 5 days later ended in a similar fashion, with Kuts leading from start to finish. His winning margin of 11 seconds was the largest ever for this event in Olympic history. Kuts improved the 5000 m world record in 1957 to 13:35.0 minutes, a time which would remain unbeaten until 1965, when it was bettered by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for ...

. Although he was only beaten on a couple of occasions, Kuts retired at the age of 32 in 1959. He had often suffered from pains in his stomach and legs, which he once froze while serving in the Navy. These problems severely hindered his training in 1957–1959 and followed him for the rest of his life. After retiring from competitions Kuts worked as an athletics coach. He suffered a stroke after a traffic accident in 1972, and hence was not allowed to accompany his several trainees at the 1972 Olympics. He died in 1975, in an apparent suicide from mixing sleeping pills and alcohol. Near the end of his life he weighed about 120 kg, approximately 50 kg heavier than usual.Volodymyr Kuts
sports-reference.com Kuts was married twice, first to Raisa Andreyevna Kuts and then to Raisa Timofeyevna Kuts. He met his first wife in 1953, when she was taking his interviews as a journalist. She later taught him Russian grammar, as Kuts completed only six years of school before the start of World War II, and often mixed up Russian and Ukrainian languages. They had a son Yuri, who became a scientist. After a second divorce in 1973, Kuts didn't remarry.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuts, Vladimir 1927 births 1975 deaths Soviet male long-distance runners Ukrainian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of the Soviet Union Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Suicides in the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Soviet Navy personnel Soviet military snipers 1975 suicides Drug-related suicides Alcohol-related deaths in Russia Sportspeople from Sumy Oblast