Uljana Semjonova

Uļjana Semjonova
Stefania Passaro boxing out Semjonova in 1982
Personal information
Born (1952-03-09) 9 March 1952
Zarasai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLatvian
Listed height210[1] cm (6 ft 11 in)
Listed weight127 kg (280 lb)
Career information
Playing career1968–1989
PositionCenter
Career history
1968–1987TTT Riga
1987–1988Tintoretto Getafe
1988–1989Valenciennes-Orchies
Career highlights
Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame
Medals
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1976 Montreal Team
1980 Moscow Team
World Championships
1971 Brazil Team
1975 Colombia Team
1983 Brazil Team
European Championships
1968 Italy Team
1970 Netherlands Team
1972 Bulgaria Team
1974 Italy Team
1976 France Team
1978 Poland Team
1980 Yugoslavia Team
1981 Italy Team
1983 Hungary Team
1985 Italy Team

Iulijana Larionovna Semjonova (Russian: Юлияна Ларионовна Семёнова, romanized: Iuliana Larionovna Semyonova; born 9 March 1952) is a retired Latvian basketball player of Russian descent who competed for the Soviet Union.[2][3]

Semjonova was the leading women's basketball player in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Wearing a men's size 21 (US) / 58 (EU) shoe, she was known for having the largest feet ever in women's basketball.[4][5] For almost all of her playing career, she played for TTT Riga, which was part of Daugava Voluntary Sports Society. With TTT, she won 15 championships in the Soviet Union and the European Champion's Cup 15 times. Semjonova was also very dominant in international play, winning two Olympic Gold medals while playing for the USSR in 1976 and 1980 and never lost a game in official international competition.[3]

She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1976,[6] and in 1993 became the first non-US woman enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame.[7] She was an inaugural member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 1999.[8] In 2007, she was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. During the 2007 Latvian sports personality of the year award ceremony, Semjonova received the Lifetime Contribution to Sport award.

References

  1. ^ Bezyazychny, Alexey (28 November 2006). "БАСКЕТБОЛ ЛУЧШИЕ ИГРОКИ ВЕКА, Ульяна СЕМЕНОВА: "ЗАБИТЬ СВЕРХУ НИКОГДА НЕ ПРОБОВАЛА"". СПОРТ-ЭКСПРЕСС (in Russian).
  2. ^ Semjonova, Uļjana; Kresa, Inita (1996). Kad es biju laimīga. Rīga: Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja. p. 8. ISBN 9984-10-001-4.
  3. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Uļjana Semjonova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  4. ^ Gazzetta dello Sport, Photoserie
  5. ^ Comparison with Bill Russell's footprint (size 16 US / size 52 EU),Photoserie Archived 8 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Khavin, Boris (1979). Всё об олимпийских играх [All About Olympic Games] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 578.
  7. ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  8. ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
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