Soviet Union at the Olympics

Soviet Union at the Olympic Games
Flag of the Soviet Union IOC code  URS NOC Soviet Olympic Committee
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
Russian Empire (1900–1912) Estonia (1920–1936, 1992–) Latvia (1924–1936, 1992–) Lithuania (1924–1928, 1992–) Unified Team (1992) Armenia (1994–) Belarus (1994–) Georgia (1994–) Kazakhstan (1994–) Kyrgyzstan (1994–) Moldova (1994–) Russia (1994–) Ukraine (1994–) Uzbekistan (1994–) Azerbaijan (1996–) Tajikistan (1996–) Turkmenistan (1996–)

The Soviet Union first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and competed at the Games on 18 occasions since then. At six 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, 12 of the 15 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.

All Summer and Winter Olympic medals of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire were inherited by Russia, but not combined together with the medal count of the Russian Federation.

Hosted Games

Soviet Union has hosted the Games on one occasion.

Timeline of participation

Date	Team
1900–1912	Russian Empire (RU1)
1920		Estonia (EST)
1924–1936			Latvia (LAT)	Lithuania (LTU)
1952–1988	Soviet Union (URS)
1992–	Unified Team (EUN)												Estonia (EST)	Latvia (LAT)	Lithuania (LTU)
1994–				Armenia (ARM)	Belarus (BLR)	Georgia (GEO)	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)	Moldova (MDA)	Russia (RUS)	Ukraine (UKR)	Uzbekistan (UZB)
1996–	Azerbaijan (AZE)	Tajikistan (TJK)	Turkmenistan (TKM)

Medal tables by Games

*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Medals by Summer Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1952 Helsinki 295 22 30 19 71 2 1956 Melbourne 283 37 29 32 98 1 1960 Rome 284 43 29 31 103 1 1964 Tokyo 319 30 31 35 96 2 1968 Mexico City 313 29 32 30 91 2 1972 Munich 373 50 27 22 99 1 1976 Montreal 410 49 41 35 125 1 1980 Moscow 489 80 69 46 195 1 1984 Los Angeles did not participate 1988 Seoul 481 55 31 46 132 1 Total 395 319 296 1010 2

Medals by Winter Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 55 7 3 6 16 1 1960 Squaw Valley 62 7 5 9 21 1 1964 Innsbruck 69 11 8 6 25 1 1968 Grenoble 74 5 5 3 13 2 1972 Sapporo 78 8 5 3 16 1 1976 Innsbruck 79 13 6 8 27 1 1980 Lake Placid 86 10 6 6 22 1 1984 Sarajevo 99 6 10 9 25 2 1988 Calgary 101 11 9 9 29 1 Total 78 57 59 194 4

Medals by summer sport   Leading in that 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 2 0 3 5 Archery 1 3 3 7 Field hockey 0 0 2 2 Total 395 319 296 1010

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

See also

• List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for the Soviet Union
• Soviet Union at the Paralympics

References

• "The USSR and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (International Olympic Committee) (84): 530–557. October 1974. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
• "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-10-09. 

National sports teams of the Soviet Union Bandy M W Basketball M W Field hockey M W Football M M U-16 M U-18 M U-20 M U-21 W Gymnastics M W Handball M W Ice hockey M M U-20 W Rugby union M W Softball Speedway Tennis M W Mixed Volleyball M W Water polo Olympic Games Paralympic Games