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Golubnichy Vladimir

Personal information

Date of birth   02-06-1936 Birthplace   Sumy (UA) Nationality    Date of death   16-08-2021

Vladimir Golubnichy: a true legend from the former Soviet Union who dominated the 20 km Race walk, an Olympic discipline, in the 1960s 
Winner of 2 gold medals at the Olympic Games << Rome 1960 & Mexico 1968 >>
&
gold medalist at the European Championships in Rome 1974

Vladimir Golubnichy, born in Sumy, Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union on June 2, 1936, had initially a lot of interest in cross-country skiing and therefore pursued a course to become a ski instructor at the Physical Education Institute in the capital Kiev. One of his teachers Zosima Petrovich, could convince him to choose race walking, an Olympic sport.
The following year, he proved his talent by completing a 10 km track in 44' 51". 
Thanks to a professional guidance within the Soviet Union and his exceptional talent, he set in 1955, at just 19 years old, a world record on the 20 km race walk making him the top favorite for this discipline at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
But due to a severe liver infection which the doctors attributed to malnutrition in his childfood during World War II, he could not participate in the Games in Melbourne. After a yearlong rehabilitation, he returned to competition in 1957.
In 1958, he became the new Russian champion in the 20 km Race walk at the National Championship of the Soviet Union in Simferopol by covering the distance on the track in a new world time: 1 h 27' 05". This world record would stand on the tables for more than 10 years, until the year 1969.
It was not until 1960 that Golubnichy was able to participate in the Rome Olympic Games for the first time. Despite being the world record holder, Golubnichy was not the great favorite to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics. However in the race, he took the lead just before the halfway point and went on to win gold in 1:34:08.
At the next Olympic Games in Tokyo 1964, he was once again on the podium with the bronze medal.
In Mexico City 1968, he became Olympic champion for the second time by beating Mexican José Pedraza with just three meters and also gain his 2nd Olympic gold.

Interested readers can watch the video of the 20 km Walk at the 1968 Mexico Olympics via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gP66gL3iiE   

Golubnichy still completed his set of Olympic medals by winning silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
At his final Olympics in Montreal 1976, he finished in an honorable 7th place.   

In addition to his four Olympic medals, he was also European champion and five-time Soviet national champion.  

In 2012, he was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame.

International honors

Olympic Games

2 x Olympic gold medalist at the men's 20 km Race walk 

Podium Race walk 20 km Rome (I) 1960 

1. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)   1 h 34' 07" 
2. Noel Freeman (AUS)             1 h 34' 16" 
3. Stanley Vickers (UK)             1 h 34' 56"   

Podium Race walk 20 km Mexico City 1968 

1. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)   1 h 33' 58"  
2. José Pedraza (MEX)              1 h 34' 00"  
3. Nikolay Smaga (RUS)            1 h 34' 03"

Olympic silver medalist 20 km Race walk in Munich (D) 

Podium Race walk 20 km Munich 1972 

1. Peter Frenkel (GDR)                1 h 26' 42"   
2. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)      1 h 26' 55" 
3. Hans-Georg Reimann (GDR)   1 h 27' 16"

Olympic bronze medalist 20 km Race walk in Tokyo (J)

Podium Race walk 20 km Tokyo 1964

1. Kenneth Matthews (UK)        1 h 29' 34"  
2. Dieter Lindner (D)                  1 h 31' 13" 
3. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)   1 h 31' 59"  

European Athletics Championships

European champion in the 20 km Race walk in Rome (I)

Podium Race walk 20 km Rome 1974 

1. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)   1 h 29' 30"
2. Bernd Kannenberg (D)          1 h 29' 38"     
3. Roger Mills (UK)                    1 h 32' 33"    

European silver medalist 20 km Race walk in Budapest (H) 

Podium Race walk 20 km Budapest 1966 

1. Dieter Lindner (D)                  1 h 29' 25"
2. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)   1 h 30' 06" 
3. Nikolay Smaga (RUS)           1 h 30' 18"

European bronze medalist 20 km Race walk in Belgrade (SRB) 

Podium Race walk 20 km Belgrade 1962 

1. Kenneth Matthews (UK)           1 h 35' 54"  
2. Hans-Georg Reimann (GDR)   1 h 36' 14" 
3. Vladimir Golubnichy (UA)      1 h 36' 37"

Medal record 

Olympic Games                   2 x gold / 1 x silver / 1 x bronze   
European Championships   1 x gold / 1 x silver / 1 x bronze  
  total number of medals      7 

Best memories

My top three unforgettable memories in my career are in descending order:

♦ My 1st victory in the 20 km at the Olympic Games in Rome (Italy) 1960, awarded with the prestigious title of << Olympic champion >> ;

♦ My 2nd gold medal at the Mexico's 1968 Olympics in the men's 20 km Race walk, by beating the local Mexican favorite Pedraza with only three meters;

♦ My victory in the 20 km at the European Athletics Championships in Rome 1974, crowned with the title of << European champion >>. 

Personal bests

♦ 5000 m Race walk      xx' xx"   19xx   xxxxxx 

♦ 10000 m Race walk   42' 47"   14,024 km/h   1962   Saint Petersburg (RUS), formerly Leningrad

♦ 20 km Race walk road    1 h 23' 55"   14,300 km/h   1975   Kiev (UA)  
♦ 20 km Race walk track   1 h 27' 05"   13,780 km/h   1958   Simferopol (UA) ► former world record that has been on the tables for a decade until 1969 

Palmares

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