List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics

Soviet Union team at the opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympics, led by Yury Vlasov

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–)

Flag bearers carry the national flag of their country at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to show an example of an attractive, physically strong person and a distinguished athlete. He was expected to carry the flag through the Olympic ceremony in one hand unsupported by a harness. This presented a formidable physical task as the flag weighted 16 kilograms (35 lb) in the 1960s, and a sudden wind might further increase the physical load. Hence the Soviet flag bearers at the opening ceremony of Summer Olympics were selected among heavyweight weightlifters or wrestlers, who did not have to compete the next day.^[1]

Soviet officials also expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal at the given Olympics. This resulted in absurd situations at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics, when the selected flag bearers, Yakov Kutsenko and Aleksey Medvedev, were not allowed to compete because the officials did not believe they would win a gold medal. Both were top-level heavyweight weightlifters. Kutsenko placed second at the 1950 World Championships and Medvedev won the world title in 1956 and 1957.^[1]

Below is a list of flag bearers who have represented Soviet Union at the Olympics.^[2]

#	Event year	Season	Flag bearer	Sport
18	1988	Summer	Karelin, AleksandrAleksandr Karelin	Wrestling
17	1988	Winter	Bukin, AndreyAndrey Bukin	Figure skating
16	1984	Winter	Tretyak, VladislavVladislav Tretyak	Ice hockey
15	1980	Summer	Balboshin, NikolayNikolay Balboshin	Wrestling
14	1980	Winter	Tikhonov, AlexanderAlexander Tikhonov	Biathlon
13	1976	Summer	Alekseyev, VasilyVasily Alekseyev	Weightlifting
12	1976	Winter	Tretyak, VladislavVladislav Tretyak	Ice hockey
11	1972	Summer	Medved, AleksandrAleksandr Medved	Wrestling
10	1972	Winter	Vedenin, VyacheslavVyacheslav Vedenin	Cross-country skiing
9	1968	Summer	Zhabotinsky, LeonidLeonid Zhabotinsky	Weightlifting
8	1968	Winter	Mamatov, ViktorViktor Mamatov	Biathlon
7	1964	Summer	Vlasov, YuryYury Vlasov	Weightlifting
6	1964	Winter	Grishin, YevgenyYevgeny Grishin	Speed skating
5	1960	Summer	Vlasov, YuryYury Vlasov	Weightlifting
4	1960	Winter	Sologubov, NikolaiNikolai Sologubov	Ice hockey
3	1956	Summer	Medvedev, AlekseyAleksey Medvedev	Weightlifting
2	1956	Winter	Goncharenko, OlegOleg Goncharenko	Speed skating
1	1952	Summer	Kucenko, YakovYakov Kucenko	Weightlifting

See also

• Soviet Union at the Olympics

References

1. Kochetkov, Aleksandr (8 August 2008) Флагманы сборной. newizv.ru
2. Soviet Union. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 25 October 2011.