Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts (, , 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a

Soviet 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 ...

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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

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

Biography

Kuts was born in Oleksyne,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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. 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 and Christopher Chataway – 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 the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

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. His chief opponent in the 5000 m was British runner Gordon Pirie, who had broken the world record earlier that year. However, Kuts had set a new 10,000 metres world record 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

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. 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.

Legacy

In 1985 in the city of Trostianets was erected a monument in his name near the Kuts Stadium.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuts, Vladimir 1927 births 1975 deaths Soviet male long-distance runners Russian male long-distance runners Ukrainian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for 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 the Soviet Union Athletes from Sumy Oblast 20th-century Russian sportsmen 20th-century Ukrainian sportsmen