In 776 BC e. the Olympic Games were held for the first time in the ancient Greek city of Athens. The audience watched with great interest the competitions of athletes, wrestlers and other athletes. The crazy success of the first event showed the benefits of continuing to host similar Games. Only Greek athletes were allowed to participate in the competition. A few centuries later, the Olympics stopped. This tradition was destined to be covered with a touch of historical dust, if not for Pierre de Coubertin. Thanks to his report on the “Revival of the Olympic Games” in 1892 at the Sorbonne, the world community once again turned their eyes to the “forbidden fruit” - the Olympic Games. Having analyzed all the positive and negative aspects of the competition, we decided to revive the glorious tradition with ancient Greek sources.
The first Russian Olympic champion
The first Olympics was held in Athens in 1896. Unfortunately, representatives of Russian sports were not present at this event. Without them, second and third similar competitions took place in Paris and St. Louis. But at the Olympics in London in 1908, a group of eight Russian athletes was delegated. The debut of the team was quite successful. It was in London that the first Olympic champion of Russia was designated. They became the skater N. Panin-Kolomenkin. No one could repeat the intricate pirouettes that the athlete initially schematically presented to the panel of judges on paper, and then exactly repeated on ice. That is why Panin-Kolomenkin was unanimously recognized as the champion in this sport. However, not only the skater perfectly represented his country at the competitions in London. A. Petrov and N. Orlov, the Russian Olympic wrestling champions, also joined him. A wide public outcry caused a stunning debut of the national team at these Games.
Opt out
The following games in Stockholm in 1912 were not so successful for the state. Unfortunately, the national team managed to perform well in only five sports: team shooting from thirty meters, Greco-Roman wrestling, rowing, sailing, shooting (gangway). The Olympic champions of Russia in 1912 won two silver (in the first two disciplines) and three bronze medals (in the rest).
After the Games, the Russian government decided to intensely prepare for the new 1916 Games. However, the First World War negatively affected the situation of all countries, the result of which was the refusal to hold competitions. Since then, due to the unstable external and internal situation, Russia did not take part in the Olympics until 1952.
The debut of the Soviet team
After a bright and long-awaited victory by all citizens of the country in World War II, the USSR government radically changed its view of the Games. In 1951, by order of the leadership of the state, the Olympic Committee was created. A year later, the Fifteenth Games were held in Helsinki. It was there that the debut of Soviet athletes took place. And I must say that the first performance was more than successful. The Olympic champions of Russia and nine other union republics brought home one hundred and six medals. Of these, 38 are of the first category, 53 of the second and 15 of the third. In the overall medal standings of the USSR was in second place. Subsequently, until the moment of its disintegration, the state took a similar position only twice, in 1964 and 1968. In all other Games, the USSR was the leader in the number of medals and in their quality.
Gorgeous athlete
It is worth noting that the country's national team actually included outstanding Olympic champions of Russia and friendly allied countries. One of them is Larisa Latynina. This stunning athlete announced herself at the Games in Melbourne in 1956. There, the gymnast won gold medals in four programs. The seventeenth and eighteenth Games added an additional five gold-colored awards to the girl's piggy bank. If you count all the medals, then Larisa Latynina won eighteen trophies during her career. Of these, nine are gold, five are silver and four are bronze medals.
Participation in the Winter Games
In the period from 1952 to 1988, the Soviet Union team won first places in such sports as rowing, fencing, kayaking and canoeing, gymnastics, swimming, sailing, wrestling and athletics. It is noteworthy that the Soviet athlete and Olympic champion Valery Brumel was also recognized as the best athlete of the 20th century. His record for high jumps of 2 meters and 28 cm was kept at the highest level for almost a quarter of a century.
In addition to the Summer Olympics, the USSR team performed well in the winter analogue of competitions. It is noteworthy that the "white" event began to be held since 1924, twenty-eight years after the start of the first Games. Prior to this, many sports were included in the program of summer competitions. The Soviet Olympic hockey champions have proven themselves excellently. Russia and the allied states proudly presented their outstanding stick athletes to the world. These include Vladislav Tretyak, Vitaly Davydovich, Alexander Ragulin, Valery Kharlamov, Vsevolod Bobrov, Alexander Maltsev.
Skaters, skaters and skiers
The “winter” Olympic champions of Russia also include the names of other outstanding athletes. These include skiers Galina Kulakova, Lyubov Kozyreva, Vyacheslav Vedenin, Raisa Smetanina, Nikolai Zimyatov, skaters Yevgeny Grishin, Nikolai Andrianov, participants in ice dancing Oksana Grishchuk and Yevgeny Platonov, as well as many others.
Athletes of winter sports have achieved particular success in such a discipline as figure skating. The Olympic champions of Russia and the allied countries brought to the treasury of the state not only a lot of gold medals, but also a huge number of records. Such athletes include Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov. Irina Rodnina is one of the few skaters who managed to win three gold medals in pair skating.
The last performance of the USSR national team
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. However, this in no way prevented the athletes of the former Soviet republics from performing at the Olympic Games in Barcelona as the USSR national team. One hundred and twelve medals were won that year. This is the largest number of trophies in the entire history of the performance of athletes of the Soviet Union. The delegation's piggy bank turned out to be 45 gold, 38 silver and 29 bronze awards. For the first time in the history of the Olympics in honor of the victory of Russian athletes, the banner of Russia, painted in three colors, was raised.
Speaking for himself
Four years later, at the Atlanta Olympics, each country that was part of the USSR represented its own separate team. For Russia, these games were triumphant. The national team won twenty-six gold medals. Silver and bronze awards also entered the piggy bank, the number of which is twenty-one and sixteen, respectively.
At the twenty-eighth Games in Athens, the Olympic champions of the Russian national team won forty-five gold medals. Silver medals were received two more than the "yellow", and the third category was ninety. In Greece, Russian athletes also set several world records. One such achievement is the pole vault result. He was shown by Elena Isinbayeva.
After the collapse of the USSR, Russia did not slow down the pace of development of sports. At the last Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the national team was in first place in the number and quality of awards received, leaving all competitors far behind.