Vitaliy Popovich ( uk, Віталій Попович; 22 October 1962 – 7 September 2000) was 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 ...

male former racewalking athlete who competed in the

50 kilometres race walk The 50 kilometre race walk was an Olympic athletics event that first appeared in 1932 and made its final Olympic appearance in 2021. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the ...

. He competed in the men's 50 kilometres walk at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, representing the Soviet Union, and in the same event at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, representing Ukraine. He was a three-time participant at the World Championships in Athletics, with a best of fourth at the 1991 event. He also competed at five straight editions of the

IAAF World Race Walking Cup The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. Women first entered the 1979 edition. ...

from 1989 to 1997. He set a personal best of 3:43:57 hours for the distance in 1989. At national level, he won one Soviet title in 1991 and, 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 ...

, took four 50 km walk titles at the

Ukrainian Athletics Championships The Ukrainian Athletics Championships ( uk, Чемпіонат України з легкої атлетики) is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ukrainian Athletic Federation, which serves as the national champions ...

.Soviet Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-19. On the professional circuit, he was the 1996 winner at the

Dudinská Päťdesiatka The Dudinská Päťdesiatka or Dudinská 50 (''Fifty kilometres of Dudince'') is an annual racewalking competition held in March on the streets of Dudince, Slovakia. The primary focus of the competition is a men's 50 kilometres race walk, from whic ...

.WINNERS OF THE DUDINSKA 50 IN WALKING
Dudince Walking. Retrieved 23 March 2014. Popovich committed suicide on 7 September 2000.

International competitions

National titles

Soviet Athletics Championships The Soviet Athletics Championships (russian: link=no, Чемпионат СССР по лёгкой атлетике) was an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Soviet Athletics Federation, which served as the Soviet natio ...

**50 km walk: 1991 *

**50 km walk: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popovich, Vitaliy 1962 births 2000 deaths Ukrainian male racewalkers Soviet male racewalkers Olympic male racewalkers Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union Olympic athletes for Ukraine Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ukraine World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union Soviet Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Ukrainian Athletics Championships winners