Soviet Union at the Olympics
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| Soviet Union at the Olympic Games | ||||||||
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| Olympic history | ||||||||
| Summer Games | ||||||||
| 1952 • 1956 • 1960 • 1964 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1980 • 1984 • 1988 | ||||||||
| Winter Games | ||||||||
| 1956 • 1960 • 1964 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1980 • 1984 • 1988 | ||||||||
| Other related appearances | ||||||||
 Unified Team (1992) |
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The Soviet Union first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and competed at the Games on 18 occasions since then. At seven of its nine appearances at the Summer Olympic Games, the team ranked first in the total number of medals won, it was second by this count on the other two. Similarly, the team was ranked first in the medal count seven times and second twice in nine appearances at the Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic Committee of the USSR was formed on April 21, 1951 and was recognized by the IOC on its 45th session (May 7, 1951). In the same year, when the Soviet representative Constantin Andrianov became an IOC member, the USSR officially joined the Olympic Movement.
The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki became first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. On July 20, 1952, the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport was won by Nina Romashkova in the women's discus throw. Romashkova's result in this event (51.42 m) was the new Olympic record at that time.
The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo became the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. There the first Winter Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport was won by Lyubov Kozyreva in women's cross-country skiing 10 km event.
The USSR was the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. These Games were boycotted by the United States and many other countries, and subsequently, the USSR led a boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Although the USSR ceased to exist on December 26, 1991, The Olympic Committee of the USSR formally existed until March 12, 1992, when it disbanded.
In 1992, twelve of the fifteen former Soviet Republics competed together as the Unified Team and marched under the Olympic Flag in the Barcelona Games, where they finished first in the medal rankings. The Unified Team also competed at the Albertville Winter Games earlier in the year (represented by seven of the twelve ex-Republics), and finished second in the medal ranking at those Games.
Contents |
[edit] Medal tables
- See also: All-time Olympic Games medal count
[edit] Medals by Summer Games
| Games | Athletes[1] | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 Helsinki | 295 (40) | 22 | 30 | 19 | 71 | 2nd |
| 1956 Melbourne | 283 (39) | 37 | 29 | 32 | 98 | 1st |
| 1960 Rome | 284 (50) | 43 | 29 | 31 | 103 | 1st |
| 1964 Tokyo | 319 (63) | 30 | 31 | 35 | 96 | 2nd |
| 1968 Mexico City | 313 (67) | 29 | 32 | 30 | 91 | 2nd |
| 1972 Munich | 373 (71) | 50 | 27 | 22 | 99 | 1st |
| 1976 Montreal | 49 | 41 | 35 | 125 | 1st | |
| 1980 Moscow (host nation) | 80 | 69 | 46 | 195 | 1st | |
| 1984 Los Angeles | did not compete | |||||
| 1988 Seoul | 55 | 31 | 46 | 132 | 1st | |
| Total | 395 | 319 | 296 | 1010 | ||
[edit] Medals by Winter Games
| Games | Athletes[1] | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | 55 (7) | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 1st |
| 1960 Squaw Valley | 62 (13) | 7 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 1st |
| 1964 Innsbruck | 69 (17) | 11 | 8 | 6 | 25 | 1st |
| 1968 Grenoble | 74 (21) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 2nd |
| 1972 Sapporo | 78 (20) | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 1st |
| 1976 Innsbruck | 13 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 1st | |
| 1980 Lake Placid | 10 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 1st | |
| 1984 Sarajevo | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 | 2nd | |
| 1988 Calgary | 11 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 1st | |
| Total | 78 | 57 | 59 | 194 |
[edit] Medals by summer sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnastics | 73 | 67 | 44 | 184 |
| Athletics | 65 | 55 | 75 | 195 |
| Wrestling | 62 | 31 | 23 | 116 |
| Weightlifting | 39 | 21 | 2 | 62 |
| Canoeing | 29 | 13 | 9 | 51 |
| Fencing | 18 | 15 | 16 | 49 |
| Shooting | 17 | 15 | 17 | 49 |
| Boxing | 14 | 19 | 18 | 51 |
| Swimming | 13 | 21 | 26 | 60 |
| Rowing | 12 | 20 | 10 | 42 |
| Cycling | 11 | 4 | 8 | 23 |
| Volleyball | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| Equestrian | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| Judo | 5 | 5 | 13 | 23 |
| Modern pentathlon | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
| Sailing | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| Basketball | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Handball | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Diving | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| Water polo | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Football (soccer) | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Archery | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Field hockey | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 395 | 319 | 296 | 1010 |
[edit] Medals by winter sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-country skiing | 25 | 22 | 21 | 68 |
| Speed skating | 24 | 17 | 19 | 60 |
| Figure skating | 10 | 9 | 5 | 24 |
| Biathlon | 9 | 5 | 5 | 19 |
| Ice hockey | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Luge | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Bobsleigh | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Ski jumping | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nordic combined | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Alpine skiing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 78 | 57 | 59 | 194 |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- "The USSR and Olympism" (PDF) (October 1974). Olympic Review (84): 530–557. International Olympic Committee.
- Olympic Medal Winners. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
