The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Ukraine

This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 218 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 16th most number of Athletes behind Sweden, and Japan.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Athletes.

1. Tamara Press (1937 - 2021)

With an HPI of 65.75, Tamara Press is the most famous Ukrainian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages on wikipedia.

Tamara Natanovna Press (10 May 1937 – 26 April 2021) was a Soviet athlete who dominated the shot put and discus throw in the early 1960s. She won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and three European titles in 1958–1962. Between 1959 and 1965, she set 11 world records: five in the shot put and six in the discus. Domestically, she held 16 national titles, nine in the shot put (1958–66) and seven in the discus (1960–66). Her younger sister Irina Press was also a prominent track athlete, mostly in the sprint events.

2. Volodymyr Holubnychy (1936 - 2021)

With an HPI of 63.20, Volodymyr Holubnychy is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Volodymyr Stepanovych Holubnychy (Ukrainian: Володимир Степанович Голубничий; also spelt Vladimir Golubnichy, 2 June 1936 – 16 August 2021) was a Ukrainian race walker, 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. 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.

3. Irina Press (1939 - 2004)

With an HPI of 62.65, Irina Press is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Irina Natanovna Press (10 March 1939 – 22 February 2004) was a Soviet athlete who competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. In 1960, she won a gold medal in the 80 m hurdles and finished fourth in the 4 × 100 m relay. In 1964, she finished fourth in the hurdles and sixth in the shot put, but won gold in the newly introduced pentathlon event. Together with her elder sister, Tamara, Irina set 26 world records between 1959 and 1966. In 1967, she won her last USSR Championship. Both Press sisters ended their careers abruptly when gender verification was introduced. Some have suggested that the Press sisters were male or intersex. Another allegation was that they were being injected with male hormones by the Soviet government in order to make them stronger. In wartime Soviet evacuation lists from 1942 (at age 3) Irina Press is documented as a girl. After retiring from competitions, Press earned a degree in physical education and coached at her club Dynamo Moscow. She also took posts in the Soviet sports administration, such as department head of the Soviet and later Russian State Committee on Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism. From 2000 and until her death in 2004, she headed the Moscow Committee of Physical Culture and Sports.

4. Anatoliy Bondarchuk (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 61.94, Anatoliy Bondarchuk is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Anatoliy Pavlovych Bondarchuk (Ukrainian: Анатолій Павлович Бондарчук, born 31 May 1940) is a retired Ukrainian hammer thrower who competed for the Soviet Union. An Olympic gold medallist, he is also regarded as one of the most accomplished hammer throw coaches of all time. He is the author of a two-volume book Transfer of Training, which was translated from Russian to English by Michael Yessis.

5. Igor Ter-Ovanesyan (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 60.57, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan (Ukrainian: І́гор Ара́мович Тер-Ованеся́н, romanized: Íhor Arámovych Ter-Ovanesián, Russian: Игорь Арамович Тер-Ованесян; born 19 May 1938) is a Soviet and Ukrainian former long jumper and coach, of Armenian descent. Competing for the Soviet Union, he was a five-time European and two-time Olympic medalist in this event. In 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour.

6. Viktor Tsybulenko (1930 - 2013)

With an HPI of 60.29, Viktor Tsybulenko is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Viktor Serhiyovych Tsybulenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Сергійович Цибуленко, Russian: Виктор Серге́евич Цыбуленко, 13 July 1930 – 19 October 2013) was a Ukrainian javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union. He competed for the Soviet Union at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1960 and a bronze in 1956, while finishing fourth in 1952. For these achievements he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1960 and the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1957. Tsybulenko was ranked within the world's top 10 javelin throwers in 1952–62, except for 1955; his best placement was second in 1962 and third in 1960. Nationally he won the Soviet title in 1952, 1955–57 and 1959. After finishing his athletics career Tsybulenko served in the Soviet Army, retiring in 1985 with a rank of colonel. He then returned to the javelin throw and won the 1994 World Masters Championships. Tsybulenko was born in the village of Vepryk, Fastiv Raion in 1930. In 1931 the father of Viktor, Serhiy Tsybulenko, was "dekulakized" (Dekulakization, a process of personal property being forcefully taken away from peasants by the Soviet state) and in 1933 the Tsybulenko family moved to Kyiv in an attempt to avoid further persecutions. In Vepryk, the Tsybulenko family used to own 20 a (0.49 acres) of land and horses that died in three months following their confiscation and transfer to a collective farm (kolkhoz). When questioned by Viktor why his father did not foresee the outcome of the seizure and join the collective farm, he answered that after being labeled as "kulak", he was unable to do so. Viktor Tsybulenko testified that in 1933 a lot of people died from Holodomor, but his grandma unlike most villagers had a root cellar in her house, which the Soviet prodotryads (food requisitioning detachment) were not aware of and therefore the family could survive.

7. Vladimir Kuts (1927 - 1975)

With an HPI of 60.25, Vladimir Kuts is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts (Ukrainian: Володимир Петрович Куц, Russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 Olympics, setting Olympic records in both events.

8. Viorica Viscopoleanu (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 60.18, Viorica Viscopoleanu is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Viorica Viscopoleanu (née Belmega, born 8 August 1939) is a retired Romanian long jumper athlete. She competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1968, setting a new world record. At the European championships she won a silver medal outdoors in 1969 and two medals indoors, in 1970 (gold) and 1971 (bronze). After retiring from competitions she worked as a coach at her club Steaua București. Monica Iagăr was one of her trainees.

9. Galina Chistyakova (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 60.12, Galina Chistyakova is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Galina Valentinovna Chistyakova (Russian: Галина Валентиновна Чистякова, Slovak: Galina Čisťakovová; born 26 July 1962) is a retired athlete who represented the Soviet Union and later Slovakia. She is the current world record holder in the long jump, jumping 7.52 metres on 11 June 1988. She is the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1989 World Indoor champion. She is also a former world record holder (pre IAAF) in the triple jump with 14.52 metres in 1989.

10. Faina Melnik (1945 - 2016)

With an HPI of 59.53, Faina Melnik is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Faina Grigorievna Veleva-Melnik (Russian: Фаина Григорьевна Велева-Мельник; Ukrainian: Фаїна Григорівна Велєва-Мельник, romanized: Faina Hryhorivna Velieva-Melnyk; née Melnik; 9 June 1945 – 16 December 2016) was a Soviet discus thrower, a 1972 Summer Olympics champion in the discus event. During her career she set 11 world records.

People

Pantheon has 218 people classified as Ukrainian athletes born between 1904 and 2007. Of these 218, 195 (89.45%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ukrainian athletes include Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, and Viorica Viscopoleanu. The most famous deceased Ukrainian athletes include Tamara Press, Volodymyr Holubnychy, and Irina Press. As of April 2024, 218 new Ukrainian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Tamara Press, Volodymyr Holubnychy, and Irina Press.