Valeriy Borzov

Valeriy Pylypovych Borzov
Валерій Пилипович Борзов

Valeriy Borzov at the 2008 Olympics
Head of State Committee of Youth, Fitness and Sport
In office
30 July 1990  6 June 1991
Prime Minister Vitaliy Masol
Vitold Fokin
Preceded by ?
Succeeded by himself (as minister)
President of NOC Ukraine
In office
1990–1998
Preceded by created
Succeeded by Ivan Fedorenko
Minister of Youth and Sport
In office
6 June 1991  20 August 1996
Prime Minister Vitold Fokin
Leonid Kuchma
Vitaliy Masol
Yevhen Marchuk
Pavlo Lazarenko
Preceded by himself (as head of committee)
Succeeded by himself (as head of committee)
Head of State Committee of Fitness and Sport
In office
20 August 1996  26 August 1997
Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko
Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Preceded by himself (as minister)
Succeeded by Suzanna Stanik
Personal details
Born (1949-10-20) 20 October 1949
Sambir, Drohobych Oblast, Soviet Union
Political party Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1972–1991)
People's Movement of Ukraine (1998-2003)
SDPU(u) (2003–?)
Spouse(s) Ludmilla Tourischeva (1977)
Children Tetyana (1978)
Valeriy Borzov

Borzov (932) during the heats of the 200 m in Munich, 1972
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1972 Munich 100 m
1972 Munich 200 m
1972 Munich 4×100 m relay
1976 Montreal 100 m
1976 Montreal 4×100 m relay
European Championships
1969 Athens 100 m
1971 Helsinki 100 m
1971 Helsinki 200 m
1974 Rome 100 m
1969 Athens 4×100 m relay

Valeriy Pylypovych Borzov (Ukrainian: Валерій Пилипович Борзов, Russian: Валерий Филиппович Борзов, Valeriy Filippovich Borzov; born 20 October 1949) is a Ukrainian former sprint athlete who competed for the Soviet Union. He is a three-time Olympian, a former president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and Minister for Youth and Sports of Ukraine.

In 1972 he won both the 100 and 200 metres sprint events for the Soviet Union at the Olympic Games in Munich.

Career

Born in Sambir, Drohobych Oblast, Soviet Union,[1] Borzov started his track and field career in 1968. He became a household name in the Track and Field circles after having won the sprint-double at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki. He had already won the 100 m championship in 1969, when he equalled Armin Hary's nine-year-old European record of 10.0 seconds.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, two of the American favorites, Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, missed the 100 m quarterfinals due to a misunderstanding about the starting time of the heats. Coincidentally Borzov almost missed his own quarter final as well, having fallen asleep in the stadium, his coach waking him up just as the race was about to start.[2] Their times in the trials were both 9.9 with Eddie Hart just ahead. After Borzov had won the 100 m sprint with relative ease in a time of 10.07 seconds, the Americans promised they would beat Borzov in the 200 m competition.

However, with all three Americans in the final this time, Borzov won again in a great style. The picture, featuring Borzov winning the 200 m heats at the 1972 Summer Olympics was selected for the Voyager Golden Record and later launched into space aboard two Voyager spacecraft in 1977.[3] However, the Americans won the 4 × 100 m relay with the Soviets taking second place. Hart ran the anchor leg of that relay receiving the baton four metres in front of Borzov thus denying the great Ukrainian any chance of demonstrating his superiority over his American rival.

Between the 1972 and the 1976 Olympics, Borzov spent more time on his studies and soccer. Still, this did not stop him from winning his third successive 100 m title at the European Championships in 1974. Rumours of a planned assassination attempt and his possible defection attempt surrounded his appearance at the Montreal Olympics. He finished third in the 100 m race behind Caribbean sprinters Hasley Crawford and Donald Quarrie, in a time of 10.14, his fourth Olympic medal. In the 4 × 100 m relay, his team won another bronze.

A persisting injury forced Borzov to abandon his hopes to participate in his third Olympic Games. He ended his career in 1979. About that time, he married Ludmilla Tourischeva, a four-time Olympic champion in gymnastics.

Political career

Borzov's political career started back in 1970s as a member of the Communist Youth League in Ukraine Komsomol of Ukraine. In 1980-1986 he was one of secretaries of the Central Committee of Komsomol of Ukraine. From 1991 to 1998, Borzov served as the president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1994. He has also held a Youth and Sports cabinet minister position with the Government of Ukraine from 1990 till 1997.[4] From 1998 until 2006, he was a member of the Ukrainian parliament.[4] Soon after being elected on the party list for People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) in 1998 he changed from the Rukh faction to the faction "Reforms Center" in 1998–1999. Yet after dissolution of the parliamentary faction of Hromada, in 1999 Borzov became one of the first who joined the newly created parliamentary faction Batkivshchyna (today known as All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland") in Verkhovna Rada, with which he stayed almost to the end of the third parliamentary convocation. Sometimes in 2001 Borzov decided to change sides again and joined the parliamentary faction of Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united). He stayed with the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) for the next elections in 2002 and eventually became a member of the party in 2003.

Gallery

Bibliography

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valeriy Borzov.
Preceded by
introduced
President of Ukrainian NOC
1990–1998
Succeeded by
Ivan Fedorenko
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jamaica Donald Quarrie
Men's 200 m Best Year Performance
1972
Succeeded by
United States Steve Williams


Records
Preceded by
Soviet Union Vladislav Sapeya
European Record Holder Men's 100 m
18 August 1968 – 6 September 1970
Succeeded by
West Germany Gert Metz
Preceded by
European Record Holder Men's 100 m
31 August 1972 – 14 September 1979
Succeeded by
Italy Pietro Mennea
Preceded by
Switzerland Philippe Clerc
European Record Holder Men's 200 m
18 July 1971 – 16 June 1972
Succeeded by
Italy Pietro Mennea
Preceded by
Italy Pietro Mennea
European Record Holder Men's 200 m
4 September 1972 – 9 September 1979
Succeeded by
Italy Pietro Mennea
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