Iulijana Larionovna Semjonova (; born 9 March 1952) is a retired

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

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 (appro ...

player of Russian descent who competed for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Semjonova was the leading

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts 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 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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 () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

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 pres ...

. 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. Originally built in ...

. 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 20th-century Russian sportswomen Living people People from Augšdaugava Municipality People from Zarasai Sportspeople from Utena County Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Latvian people of Russian descent Latvian women's basketball players Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball People with gigantism Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian women's basketball players Russians in Latvia Soviet expatriate basketball people in France Soviet expatriate basketball people in Spain Soviet women's basketball players