Olympic history of swimming. Olympic history of swimming Results of Olympic swimming competitions

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 14. /TASS/. The Russian swimming team has completed its performance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the team's head coach does not consider the results of the team's performance a failure.

At the 2016 Games, the Russian team won four medals. Yulia Efimova has two silver medals - at distances of 100 and 200 meters breaststroke. Two more bronze medals were won by Evgeny Rylov (200 meters backstroke) and Anton Chupkov (200 meters breaststroke). Thus, the Russian team was left without gold medals for the fifth Olympics in a row.

“I’m not completely satisfied, we were ready to win one or two gold medals,” the head coach of the Russian team, Sergei Kolmogorov, admitted to reporters. “In general, I think that all the athletes coped with the tasks, I have no complaints about them. Now we have a professional and serious a conversation with a number of coaches who were unable to get their athletes to peak form for the main competition of the year."

According to the coach, he does not consider the Russians’ performance at the Olympics a failure. “I will not accept just one assessment of the performance of the Russian team - failure,” said Kolmogorov. “There was a difficult situation in the team, we were stressed, there was a difficult situation. Therefore, the result of our swimmers at the Olympics is not a failure.”

The national team does not need major changes

Kolmogorov has led the Russian national team since the fall of 2015. The decision on his future fate, as the coach himself said, will be made by the leadership of the All-Russian Swimming Federation.

According to the team coach, major changes in the Russian national team are not required, but it is enough to only improve the qualifications of some coaches.

“The decision about my future should be made by my superiors. I believe that no major changes are required. The main thing that is needed is for coaches to quickly improve their skills,” Kolmogorov said.

“Yulia Efimova proved that she is “clean”

The real heroine of the Olympic Games was four-time world champion Yulia Efimova, who won two silver medals in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke in Rio de Janeiro.

Due to the lengthy proceedings of her doping case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, as well as the subsequent wait for the final verdict of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Russian woman approached the main start of the four-year anniversary exhausted and tired.

At the same time, already during the Olympic tournament, the rivals launched a powerful psychological attack on the 24-year-old Russian woman, accusing her of an anti-doping violation three years ago and not wanting to accept any arguments regarding the swimmer’s innocence.

As the swimmer entered the pool, some fans whistled at her. However, the athlete managed not to react to obstruction from her competitors and proved herself to be a real fighter and leader of the Russian team.

The behavior of swimmers and fans who publicly condemned Efimova was sharply criticized by the President of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), Julio Maglione. “This is very, very bad,” Maglione said. “Everyone here needs to understand that sport is supposed to unite people and bring good, so I condemn this behavior. Moreover, Efimova has proven that she is “clean”, since she competes at the Olympic Games ".

On the final day of the Olympic swimming tournament, Efimova competed as part of the Russian team in the 4x100 m medley relay. The team, which also included Anastasia Fesikova, Svetlana Chimrova and Veronika Popova, took sixth place. “I was really focused on the relay, the results were very tight, and we didn’t have enough luck to get 2-3 places. I tried very hard in the relay, after the personal distances I was a little relieved, I slept for the first time after (the distance) 200 meters,” said Efimova .

According to the Russian, she was upset that the Russian team did not make it into the top three. “When you go to the relay, it’s easier to swim because there is support from the girls,” Efimova emphasized. “We had a good mood, and that’s why it’s very disappointing now.”

Efimova will return to Russia

Until recently, the Russian woman trained in the USA under the guidance of American specialist David Salo, but in the spring she stopped collaborating with the specialist.

The final segment before the 2016 Games, the athlete was coached by her father Andrei Efimov. According to the head coach of the Russian national team, Sergei Kolmogorov, in the near future Efimova may return to Russia, where she will continue to train according to an individual program.

“I assume that after the Olympics Yulia (Efimova - TASS note) will remain in Russia and will train according to an individual program, we discussed this,” Kolmogorov said.

Phelps is unsurpassed

One of a kind, now 23-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps confirmed his highest class in Rio de Janeiro, winning five gold medals (one less than at the Games in Beijing and one more than four years ago in London) .

At the 2016 Games, Phelps started in all possible disciplines and only in one of them he gave himself some slack (or showed mercy) in the 100-meter butterfly, losing his usual gold medal to the young swimmer from Singapore Joseph Schooling.

In the remaining finals, Phelps consistently won. As the American previously said, he does not plan to compete after the Games in Rio de Janeiro and wants to finally end his career.

The Hungarian star Katinka Hosszu, whose collection until the current Games lacked only Olympic awards, also pleased her fans. In Rio de Janeiro, the swimmer nicknamed "The Iron Lady" won four medals, three of them gold, and became one of the main stars of the competition.

The best team in the Olympic swimming pool was once again Team USA, which won 33 medals - 16 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze. The Australians took second place (3-4-3), the third place went to the Hungarian team (3-2-2). The American team has consistently dominated Olympic swimming since the 1992 Games in Barcelona. In 1988, in Seoul, the first place in the medal standings of swimmers was taken by the GDR team, which won 11 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals, and the Americans came second (8-6-4).

Swimming in Russia refers to all disciplines where athletes have to overcome distances by swimming. In international terminology, swimming also includes sports such as water polo, rowing and others. The term “water sports” is used for them in Russia. Swimming competitions are traditionally included in the Summer Olympic Games. The number of disciplines and medals is only slightly inferior to athletics. The discipline has been present at the Games for a long time, since 1896. At that time, only men swam, but starting in 1912, women also began to compete. But outdoor swimming joined the official program only a few years ago, in 2008.

Swimming Games Participants

Participants in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are 900 athletes from different countries. Each country can nominate no more than two participants per sporting discipline. If we are talking about a relay race, then no more than one team.

Part of the competition will be held in open water, the other part in swimming pools.

In total, athletes will receive 34 sets of awards in different disciplines.

Teams are considered to have qualified for the qualifying tournament if they have achieved an appropriate swimming result that demonstrates their suitability for such serious competition. Qualification for the competition will end in July, shortly before the start of the games. If some places remain unfilled out of 900 quotas, further selection will be made by a special commission.

Russia has won 48 swimming quotas, so the Summer Olympics promises to be especially interesting for Russian fans.

Men's disciplines:

• Freestyle: 50, 100, 200, 400, 1500 m.
• Butterfly: 100, 200 m.
• Back: 100, 200 m.
• Breaststroke: 100, 200 m.
• Open water: 10 km.

Women's disciplines:

• Freestyle: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 m.
• Butterfly: 100, 200 m.
• Back: 100, 200 m.
• Breaststroke: 100, 200 m.
• Medley swimming: 200, 400 m.
• Relays: 4x100 freestyle, 4x200 freestyle, 4x100 medley.
• Open water: 10 km.

Swimming competition calendar

The Summer Olympics include swimming competitions and will take place from August 6 to August 16.

Each day there will be several preliminary heats and semi-finals.

Competition finals, schedule:

• August 6.

Men: Freestyle, 400 m. Individual medley, 400 m.

Women: Freestyle, 4x100m relay. 400m medley.

• August 7.

Men: Breaststroke, 100 m. Freestyle, 4x100 m relay.

Women: Freestyle, 400 m. Butterfly, 100 m.

• 8 August.

Men: Freestyle, 200 m. Backstroke, 100 m.

Women: Backstroke, 100 m. Breaststroke, 100 m.

• August 9.

Men: Butterfly, 200 m. Freestyle, 4x200 m relay.

Women: 200m freestyle. 200m medley.

• 10th of August.

Men: Freestyle, 100 m. Breaststroke, 200 m.

Women: Butterfly, 200 m. Freestyle, 4x200 m relay.

• 11th August.

Men: Back, 200 m. Medley 200 m.

Women: Freestyle, 100 m. Breaststroke, 200 m.

• 12th of August.

Men: Freestyle, 50 m. Butterfly, 100 m.

Women: Freestyle, 800 m. Backstroke, 200 m.

• August 13.

Men: Freestyle, 1500 m. Medley swimming, 4x100 m relay.

Women: Freestyle, 50 m. Medley swimming, 4x100 m relay.

• August 15.

Women: Open water, 10 km.

• August 16.

Men: Open water, 10 km.

The competition will take place at the Rio Olympic Aquatic Center, which seats 18 thousand spectators.

The final action in the main arena of Brazil was accompanied by a downpour, which slightly spoiled the mood of the participants in the “parade of heroes”, the spectators in the stands and the organizers of the ceremony. Although for those who leave Rio in a good mood, with a sense of accomplishment and with a won medal, such a little thing as rain is unlikely to spoil the impression of the first Olympic Games in South America.

Medal count

Sputnik, Maria Tsimintia

Few doubted that the US team would win the overall team competition. In 1992, during the Games in Barcelona, ​​the Americans took second place, losing to the united CIS team. Since then, they have consistently been among the leaders in the team standings. The only misfire happened in Beijing in 2008, where they lost leadership to the Chinese.

© REUTERS / PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI

The British, who at the Games in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) did not even make it into the top ten, but finished in the top ten in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004), became second.

Until the penultimate day of competition, Russia waged a desperate struggle with Germany for fourth place and ultimately managed to get ahead of its competitors, winning two more golds. The final medal of the highest dignity for the Russian national team was brought by freestyle wrestler Soslan Ramonov.

The Georgian national team won seven medals at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and, in terms of the total number of awards won, repeated the result of the London Games. However, it surpassed them in quality terms. Four years ago, Georgians climbed to the highest step of the podium only once. This time the Georgian anthem was played twice in Rio de Janeiro.

Georgian medalists of the XXXI Summer Olympic Games

Lasha Talakhadze (weightlifting, +105 kg)

Vladimir Khinchegashvili (freestyle wrestling, -57 kg)

Varlam Liparteliani (judo, -90 kg)

Lasha Shavdatuashvili (judo, -73 kg)

Irakli Turmanidze (weightlifting, +105 kg)

Shmagi Bolkvadze (Greco-Roman wrestling, -66 kg)

Geno Petriashvili (freestyle wrestling, -125 kg)

© REUTERS / STOYAN NENOV

It is impossible not to note the amazing progress of the Azerbaijani Olympians, who won 18 medals (1-7-10) at the Games in Brazil. They exceeded the London figure by eight awards.

Heroes of the Olympics...

Swimmer Michael Phelps, who, for a moment, is already 31 years old, again “came, saw, conquered.” At the Rio Games, the American won five gold medals and became a 23 (!) time Olympic Champion. It is difficult to even imagine that anyone will even be able to approach such indicators in the near future.

© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Vilf

Michael Phelps (USA), who won the gold medal in the men's 200m medley swimming, at the awards ceremony of the XXXI Summer Olympics.

Americans Katie Ledecky (swimming) and Simone Biles (gymnastics) were just behind Phelps, winning four golds each.

© photo: Sputnik / Alexey Filippov

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt again won three gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay, becoming a nine-time Olympic Champion. At the last three Olympics, Bolt has consistently won these disciplines.

© photo: Sputnik / Konstantin Chalabov

Usain Bolt (Jamaica) after finishing the final 200m race during the men's track and field competition at the XXXI Summer Olympics.

...and "heroes of the Olympics"

The US women's track and field team dropped the baton in the semifinals of the 4x100-meter relay and failed to qualify for the decisive race. The Americans filed an appeal, saying they were interfered with by the Brazilian athletes. The appeal was granted. The US team was allowed to run through the semi-finals in splendid isolation. During the re-run, they showed a better time than their rivals from China, and the latter were “asked” from the final. The appeal of the Asian athletes was not satisfied, and the Americans became Olympic Champions.

Georgian heroes of Rio

If we do not take into account the Georgian athletes who won medals at the Rio Games, then Georgia has other heroes who have won the hearts of fans not only in their homeland, but also in the world.

Canoeist Zaza Nadiradze was incredibly happy when he was able to qualify for the Olympics. I couldn't even dream of more. But Nadiradze performed well in qualifying and reached the semi-finals of the single canoe competition at a distance of 200 meters. In the semi-finals, he finished first, leaving behind the current Olympic Champion, Ukrainian Yuri Cheban, and four-time World and European champion Valentin Demyanenko. But in the finals, nervousness and lack of experience in participating in competitions of this rank took their toll. As a result, Nadiradze took fifth place, but won the hearts of thousands of fans.

© REUTERS / MURAD SEZER

Seoul Olympic Champion (1988) in pistol shooting Nino Salukvadze came to Rio for her eighth Games in her career. A unique achievement among women in this sport. Salukvadze was able to reach the finals of the competition, but in the end she was left without a medal. After completing her performances, she said that she would most likely be preparing for the Olympics in Tokyo - the ninth in a row.

© REUTERS / EDGARD GARRIDO

David Kharazishvili became the first marathon runner in the history of Georgia to win a license for the Olympic Games. The Georgian athlete started well, but at the 25th kilometer he felt a sharp pain in his side. He didn’t run for almost two kilometers, he just walked and even thought about withdrawing from the race. However, he found courage and crossed the finish line. As a result, he took 72nd place, but ended up in the first half of finishers and left 93 athletes behind him.

40 Georgian athletes went to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which is a record figure. For the first time in the history of independent Georgia, the country was represented in such sports as: women's weightlifting (Anastasia Gottfried), women's judo (Esther Stam), men's shot put (Benik Abrahamyan), women's high jump (Valentina Lyashenko).

Green water Rio

The water in the pool of the Rio de Janeiro aquatics center, where the diving competition was supposed to be held, suddenly turned green, which baffled even the technical staff. It later turned out that this was due to 160 liters of hydrogen peroxide accidentally poured into the pool. The substance neutralized chlorine, which promoted the growth of “organic compounds,” including, possibly, seaweed. Despite the fact that the water did not pose a threat to the health of the athletes, it still had to be replaced.

Olympic Games - 2012. London (UK)

At the Games in London, American swimmer Michael Phelps, adding 4 gold and 2 silver medals to his treasury, became the only 18-time Olympic champion in the history of sports. Having won a total of 22 Olympic medals, he broke the medal record of the Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (18 Olympic medals), which lasted 48 years.
For the first time, the athlete successfully competed in pool and open water competitions. It was the Tunisian Osama Mellouli, who won a bronze medal in the pool at a distance of 1500 m and became an Olympic champion, participating in the 10 km marathon swim.
At the London Olympics, Russian swimming pool athletes won four medals. Two silver medals were won by Anastasia Zueva in the 200m backstroke and Evgeniy Korotyshkin in the 100m butterfly, who lost only to Michael Phelps. Two bronze medals were won by Yulia Efimova in the 200 m breaststroke and the men's 4x100 m freestyle relay (Andrey Grechin, Sergey Fesikov, Danila Izotov, Vladimir Morozov, Evgeny Lagunov and Nikita Lobintsev).
Yulia Efimova set a Russian and European record in the 200m breaststroke - 2:20.92. Veronica Popova set national records in the 200m freestyle - 1.56.84, and the women's team of Anastasia Zueva, Yulia Efimova, Irina Bespalova and Veronika Popova in the 4x100m medley relay - 3.56.03.

Medals of the Russian national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 in London (0-2-2):

Olympic Games - 2008. Beijing (China)

11,099 athletes from 204 countries took part in the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, held in the capital of the People's Republic of China. 302 sets of awards were played in 28 sports. Most swimming competitions were held at the Beijing National Aquatic Center, specially built for the Games. Only the open water races were held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing Park. The swimming program at the Beijing Games has been expanded. It included open water swimming (marathon distance 10 km). The total number of award sets up for grabs has increased to 34: Freestyle: 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m (women), 1500 m (men), 4x100 m, 4x200 m relays. Marathon 10 km. Backstroke: 100m, 200m. Breaststroke: 100m, 200m. Butterfly: 100 m, 200 m. Medley swimming: 200 m, 400 m, 4x100 m relay.

won at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad 2008 in Beijing (1-1-2):

Olympic Games - 2004. Athens (Greece)

Medals of the Russian swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad 2004 in Athens (0-1-0):

Olympic Games - 2000. Sydney (Australia)

Medals of the Russian swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad 2000 in Sydney (0-1-1):

Olympic Games - 1996. Atlanta (USA)

10,500 athletes from 197 countries gathered for the Games of the XXVI Olympiad. 271 sets of medals were competed in 26 sports. The games took place in the year celebrating the centenary of the modern Olympics. Softball, beach volleyball, mountain biking, women's soccer and lightweight rowing crew races debuted at the Olympic Games. American swimmer Amy Van Dyken won the most gold medals, four. She won the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly; and also competed in the 4x100 freestyle and medley relay. Russian swimmer Alexander Popov won the 50 and 100 meter freestyle events at the second Games in a row. The swimming competition was held at the Georgia Tech Swimming Complex.

Medals of the Russian swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad 1996 in Atlanta (4-2-2):

Olympic Games - 1992. Barcelona (Spain)

9,356 athletes from 172 countries took part in the Games of the XXV Olympiad. After the collapse of the USSR, 12 republics of the former USSR participated in the United Team. The games were remembered for their impeccable organization. The Olympic Flame was spectacularly lit by Paralympic athlete Antonio Rebollo - with an arrow from a bow. For the first time, a team of American professional basketball players from the NBA performed at the games. 286 sets were played in 32 sports. Within the framework of the CIS Olympic Committee, when awarding representatives of three republics that already had national Olympic committees (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine), the flag was raised and the anthem of the corresponding country was sounded. When the relay team was awarded, the IOC flag with the Olympic rings was raised and “Ode to Joy” from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was played. A similar procedure was followed when awarding athletes of the united German team at the games in 1956, 1960 and 1964. Thus, when awarding Alexander Popov and Evgeniy Sadovoy, the Russian anthem was played, Elena Rudkovskaya - the Belarusian one, and the CIS relay team - “Ode to Joy”. One technical innovation appeared at the Games: shortly before the start of the Olympic Games, Mike Barrowman and Dara Torres presented a new model of “swimsuit” (including a men’s version), made of polyurethane and polyester, which, according to manufacturers, has a lower drag coefficient, than leather. Another new product is television. These are “minicameras” that move on guides behind the swimmer and can track all his movements, including underwater.

United Swim Team Medals,
won at the Games of the XXV Olympiad 1992 in Barcelona (6-3-1):

Olympic Games - 1988. Seoul (South Korea)

9,414 athletes from 160 countries took part in the Games of the XXIV Olympiad. The USSR national team missed the 1984 games in Los Angeles due to a political boycott. Therefore, at the Seoul Olympics, Soviet athletes were faced with the task of proving that they, as before, are trendsetters in world sports. The USSR national team took first place in the team competition, winning 132 medals, including 55 gold, 31 silver and 46 bronze. The football team of Soviet athletes won the Olympic Games for the first time. The performance of Canadian runner Ben Johnson was scandalous - he was disqualified for doping and he was forced to return the gold medal.

won at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad 1988 in Seoul (2-2-5):

Olympic Games - 1984. Los Angeles (USA)

Responding with a mutual boycott, the USSR and most socialist countries (except China, Romania, Yugoslavia) refused to come to the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. The USSR, meanwhile, held its own alternative competition - "Friendship-84". 6,797 athletes from 140 countries took part in the Olympic Games. We competed for 221 sets of medals in 23 sports. The main hero of the Games was the American runner Carl Lewis, who won 4 gold medals. On the eve of the Olympic Games, world records in swimming according to the Olympic program (29 distances, 15 for men and 14 for women) belonged to swimmers of the GDR - 10, USA - 9, Germany - 3, USSR - 3, Canada and Australia - 2 each. During all the days of the Olympic swimming tournament, only 10 world records were updated, and only among men. Of the 13 world records held before the Games by swimmers from the GDR and the USSR, only one was surpassed in Los Angeles - the men's 400m medley.

Olympic Games - 1980. Moscow (USSR)

5,217 athletes came to the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow. Some types of competitions took place in other cities of the USSR. In Tallinn - sailing regattas; in Kyiv, Leningrad and Minsk - preliminary football tournament. During the preparation for the Olympic Games, new sports facilities were built and reconstructed: the Olympic sports complex; terminal No. 2 of Sheremetyevo airport; Olimpic village; rowing canal and cycle track "Krylatskoye"; equestrian sports complex in Bitsa; Hotel Cosmos; reconstruction of the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin; new building of the Ostankino television center. To promote the Olympic Games and obtain additional funds for organizing competitions, various souvenirs, badges, sports literature, postal envelopes, a series of sports stamps were issued, posters were hung, and Olympic lotteries were held. July 19, 1980 - About 17,000 people took part in the opening ceremony of the Games. The Olympic flame was lit by Soviet basketball player Sergei Belov.

From the information board, the Soviet cosmonauts greeted the Olympians and wished them happy starts.
203 medals were awarded in 23 sports.
80 countries took part in the Moscow Games. But some countries did not come (athletes from the USA, Canada, Turkey, South Korea), organizing a boycott related to political confrontation. But, despite the boycott, the big sports festival took place!
At the closing ceremony - a huge bear, to the sound of the song “Goodbye, Moscow!” (poet Nikolai Dobronravov and composer Alexandra Pakhmutova), rose in balloons over the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, waving his paw goodbye. It was an unforgettable sight and the spectators’ eyes began to sparkle with tears.
Sports meetings of swimmers at the Moscow Olympic Games were held in the new Olympic swimming pool, built on Prospekt Mira.
The new pool is loved by swimmers from various countries. Athletes and their coaches called him speedy.
It is no coincidence that during the days of the Olympic competitions, athletes updated 238 national swimming records, including 10 world and 22 Olympic ones. Over 300 athletes took part in competitions in 26 types of swimming (13 for men and the same for women). Compared to the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, the competition program has not undergone any changes. For the second time in a row, the men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay was absent from the swimming program. 333 athletes from 41 countries took part in the competition.
The swimmers from the GDR performed most successfully; they won almost half of all gold medals played - 12, and in the women's part of the program, the Germans won 11 out of 13 events, and in 6 out of 11 types of the individual program, the GDR swimmers occupied the entire podium. USSR swimmers won 22 medals, 8 of which were gold. Compared to the Games in Montreal, Soviet athletes performed much more successfully; then they had 9 awards, only one of which was gold. Only in one event out of 26 was there not a single representative of the GDR or USSR on the podium of the Moscow Games - the men's 200-meter backstroke. In total, representatives from 11 countries won awards, and 6 of them won at least one gold.
The hero of the Games was 20-year-old Soviet swimmer Vladimir Salnikov, who won 3 golds - 400 and 1500 m freestyle, as well as in the 4x200 m freestyle relay. At the same time, at a distance of 1500 meters, Salnikov set a world record, becoming the first in history to swim this distance faster than 15 minutes - 14 minutes 58.27 seconds. The silver medalist was more than 16 seconds behind Vladimir.
Among the women, 16-year-old German Ines Diers distinguished herself; she won medals in all types of freestyle swimming, including the 4x100 m relay. Germans Barbara Krause, Rika Reinisch and Karen Mechuk won 3 gold each (she also had one silver).
Following the results of the Games in Moscow, new world records were set at 7 distances:
In addition to the already mentioned achievement of Salnikov, 6 more records were set by German swimmers. 17-year-old Petra Schneider won gold in the 400m individual medley in a world record, more than 10.5 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. Schneider's time would allow her to win gold in this distance at the next 4 Olympic Games until 1996.
Subsequently, it turned out that German swimmers, like other athletes from the GDR, took anabolic steroids based on testosterone, but then the doping services did not reveal this, and all the medals of the Moscow Games remained with their owners. 3-time Olympic champion 15-year-old Rika Reinisch ended her sports career a year after the Moscow Games, as her mother feared for her daughter’s health.

Medals of the USSR national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXII Olympiad in 1980 in Moscow (8-9-5):

Olympic Games - 1976. Montreal (Canada)

At the Games of the XXI Olympiad, the Olympic flame was delivered to the stadium using a satellite. Athletes from 92 countries came to Montreal - 6028 athletes. Soviet athletes take first place in the team competition. 125 medals were won, including 49 gold, 41 silver and 35 bronze. 198 sets of medals were competed in 21 sports. Basketball was included in the Games program for the first time, in which Soviet athletes won and became champions. The Olympic competitions were held in 26 swimming events (13 among men and the same number among women) - 3 fewer than in Mexico City and Munich (due to the exclusion of the 200 m medley for men and women and the men's 4x100 m relay). Thus, for the first time in the history of the Games, the women's program was equal in the number of distances to the men's, thereby ending the inequality that had lasted more than 60 years.

Over the 7 days of competition, 77 new Olympic records were set (women - 40, men - 37), 29 world records (women - 11, men - 18), 25 European (women - 11, men - 14) and 30 USSR records (women - 14). 19, men - 11). Olympic records were updated at 25 distances (except for the men's 100 m butterfly, where the world and Olympic record of American Mark Spitz, 54.27, set in Munich, remained unbroken). Of the 77 new Olympic records, swimmers from the USA hold 33, the GDR - 23, the USSR - 7 (Marina Kosheva - 2, Tamara Shelofastova, Andrei Bogdanov, Andrei Krylov, Arvydas Juozaitis, Vladimir Raskatov and the national team in the 4x200 m relay race - 1 each ), Canada - 5, Great Britain - 3, Holland - 2, New Zealand, Brazil, Hungary and Germany - 1 each.
World records were registered in 22 types of swimming (except for 200 m butterfly, 100 and 200 m backstroke for women, 100 m butterfly for men. In the 100 m butterfly for women, the world record was repeated, which, according to FINA rules, is considered to be setting a world record ); 18 of them were installed by swimmers from the USA, 9 by the GDR, 1 each by Great Britain and the USSR. Of the 25 European records, 11 are also world records. European records were set by swimmers from the GDR - 11, the USSR - 9, the FRG - 3, the UK - 2.
The Soviet team participating in the Olympic swimming competitions in Montreal included 31 athletes (11 women and 20 men) - 7 more than at the Munich Olympics. The 1976 Olympic team included 2 veterans - participants in the two previous (XIX and XX) Olympiads: Honored Masters of Sports of the USSR Vladimir Bure and Nikolai Pankin. The remaining 29 swimmers joined the national team after the Munich Olympics and participated in Olympic competitions for the first time. Of these, 7 people (Lyubov Kobzova, Natalya Popova, Lyubov Rusanova, Tamara Shelofastova, Vladimir Mikheev, Valentin Parinov and Andrei Smirnov) were included in the 1973 national team and were participants in the 1st World Swimming Championships in Belgrade. The swimmers listed above and 9 more (Irina Vlasova, Marina Klyuchnikova, Nadezhda Stavko, Klavdiya Studennikova, Marina Yurchenya, Andrei Bogdanov, Andrei Krylov, Alexander Manachinsky and Igor Omelchenko) participated in the summer of 1975 in the second world swimming championship (in Cali). Finally, 13 swimmers (Marina Koshevaya, Larisa Tsareva, Mikhail Gorelik, Vladimir Dementyev, S. Mikolutsky, Vladimir Raskatov, Vladimir Salnikov, Evgeniy Serednin, Anatoly Smirnov and Arvydas Juozaitis) first joined the national team in 1976. The youngest were in team Marina Koshevaya and Vladimir Salnikov (16 years old), the oldest are Lyubov Rusanova (22 years old) and Nikolay Pankin (27 years old).
In total, swimmers from 6 republics and 15 cities were included in the Soviet Olympic team: RSFSR - 19 (Moscow - 9, Leningrad - 8, Krasnodar and Lipetsk - 1 each); Ukraine - 6 (Kharkov - 2, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Kyiv - 1 each); Belarus - 2 (Minsk and Mogilev), Georgia - 2 (Tbilisi and Batumi); Lithuania - 1 (Vilnius); Latvia - 1 (Riga).
In 1976, under the leadership of Sergei Vaitsekhovsky, our swimmers took 3rd place in the team competition, behind the US and GDR teams.

Medals of the USSR national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XXI Olympiad in 1976 in Montreal (1-3-5):

Olympic Games - 1972. Munich (Germany)

At the Games of the XX Olympiad, again Soviet athletes took first place in the team competition, having won 99 medals. Among which are 50 gold, 27 silver, 22 bronze. Valery Borzov won the 100 and 200 meters, thereby breaking the monopoly of victories of American athletes. Alexander Medved became a three-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling. Another Soviet athlete Ivan Yarygin also showed an excellent performance in freestyle wrestling. The record holder for the most gold medals in the entire history of the Olympics is American swimmer Mark Spitz. The XX Olympics left tragic memories in history - a terrorist attack. But, despite attempts to disrupt the competition, at the IOC meeting it was decided to continue the Olympic Games. The continuation of the Games allowed us to see new sporting achievements, records and victories.

551 swimmers (297 men and 254 women) from 51 countries competed in Munich. The Soviet Union was represented at the Games of the XX Olympiad by 26 strongest swimmers (14 athletes and 12 athletes). For the third time, Galina Prozumenshchikova-Stepanova, Vladimir Kosinsky and Viktor Mazanov participated in the Olympic Games, for the second time - Vladimir Bure, Georgy Kulikov, Nikolai Pankin, Victor Sharygin and Tinatin Lekveishvili. For the first time, crawlers Igor Grivennikov (Moscow), Alexander Samsonov (Moscow region), Viktor Aboimov (Karaganda), Tatyana Zolotnitskaya (Novosibirsk), Elena Timoshenko, Nadezhda Matyukhina and Olga Petruseva (all from Moscow), breaststroke swimmers Igor Cherdakov, Viktor Stulikov (both Leningrad), Tatyana Prudnikova (Lvov) and Lyudmila Porubayko (Krasnodar), butterflyists Vladimir Krivtsov (Baku) and Irina Ustimenko (Donetsk), USSR champion in backstroke Natalya Ershova (Minsk), representatives of medley swimming Mikhail Sukharev (Astrakhan), Valentin Partyka (Donetsk), Nina Petrova (Moscow) and Birute Uzhkuraityte (Kaunas).
The leader of the swimmers team was A.P. Murysev, the senior coach was K.A. Inyasevsky, the coaches were V.V. Bure, N.I. Ustimenko and M.G. Tatishvili.
All Olympic swims were held on 50-meter water tracks in an indoor pool, specially built in Munich for the Games of the XX Olympiad. There were five baths, two of which (located in front of the stands for 10 thousand spectators) were intended for swimming, water polo and diving competitions, and three for training and warm-ups.
All pools were well technically equipped: the water was automatically heated to the required temperature and purified; The drainage sides, usual for most sports pools, were absent and instead they were built with gently sloping “banks” that perfectly damped the waves; the dividing paths of the pool were removed automatically into the basement; when the start failed, the transverse cord, designed to stop the swimmers, was lowered into the water by pressing a button. The most remarkable technical improvement of the Olympic swimming pool was the electronic television installation of the Longin system, which controlled the entire course of sports competition on the water tracks (including the order in which swimmers arrived at the finish line), recording all 8 results shown in the swim on a large scoreboard. If the chief referee or members of the appeal jury had any doubts about the correctness of the finish or turn made by the swimmers, the videotape was immediately viewed on the television screen. Thanks to this technical equipment, Olympic competitions were held for the first time without timekeepers and finish judges, which made it possible to reduce the number of judges by almost 3 times (compared to previous Olympiads).
In Munich, records were updated: 30 world records (2 times more than in Tokyo, and 5 times more than in Mexico City), 79 Olympic and 313 national (including 14 - USSR).
In the overall standings, our swimmers took 4th place, behind the teams of the USA, Australia and the gaining momentum of the GDR team.

Medals of the USSR national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XX Olympiad 1972 in Munich (0-2-3):

Olympic Games - 1968. Mexico City (Mexico)

5,530 athletes from 112 countries gathered in Mexico City for the Games of the XIX Olympiad. One of the youngest Olympic champions was a 15-year-old gymnast from the USSR, Lyubov Burda. The winners of the running program, American black athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised their hands in black gloves during the award ceremony to protest against racism. 172 sets of medals were competed at the Olympics. 478 swimmers (269 men and 209 women) from 52 countries competed in Mexico City. The most numerous teams were the USA - 52 swimmers, the USSR - 32, the GDR and Mexico - 27 each, the Federal Republic of Germany - 25, Australia and Great Britain - 24 each, Japan - 21, Hungary - 18, Holland - 17, Canada, France and Sweden - each 16, El Salvador - 14 and Spain - 13. The games of the XIX Olympiad were held in the middle mountains, at an altitude of more than 2200 m above sea level. Soviet swimmers were preparing for the Olympic competitions and held the national qualifying championship in Tsaghkadzor (at about the same altitude as in Mexico City).

The 1968 Olympic team included 32 swimmers, including 10 participants from the previous Olympics: Valentin Kuzmin, Semyon Belits-Geiman, Vladimir Kosinsky, Vladimir Nemshilov, Viktor Mazanov, Galina Prozumenshchikova, Svetlana Babanina, Tatyana Devyatova, Natalya Ustinova and Tatyana Savelyeva . Two thirds of the team were Olympic debutants: freestyle climbers Leonid Ilyichev, Vladimir Bure, Sergey Gusev (all from Moscow), Georgy Kulikov (Khabarovsk), Akhmed Anarbaev (Frunze), Evgeny Spiridonov (Leningrad), Lydia Grebets (Poltava), 3rd Dus ( Lugansk) and Tamara Sosnova (Moscow); young breaststroke swimmers Evgeny Mikhailov (Poltava), I. Marchukov (Smolensk), Nikolay Pankin and Alla Grebennikova (both Moscow); butterfly players Yuri Suzdaltsev (Astrakhan), Sergei Konov (Tashkent) and Viktor Sharygin (Moscow); 14-year-old country record holder among girls in backstroke Tinatin Lekveishvili (Tbilisi); European champion in swimming 200 m backstroke Yuri Gromak (Lvov); a rapidly progressing 16-year-old athlete who specialized in backstroke, Leonid Dobroskokin (Volgograd); representatives of integrated swimming Andrey Dunaev, Vladimir Kravchenko (both from Moscow) and Larisa Zakharova (Perm). The leader of the swimmer team was Zakhary Pavlovich Firsov, his deputy was Honored Master of Sports of the USSR N. M. Kryukov, the senior coach was A. A. Korneev, the coaches were B. P. Ananyev, V. V. Bure and E. L. Alekseenko.
In the overall standings, our swimmers took 3rd place, behind only the US and Australian teams.

Medals of the USSR national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XIX Olympiad in 1968 in Mexico City (0-4-4):

Olympic Games - 1964. Tokyo (Japan)

The Olympic Games are being held in the East for the first time. 5,140 athletes from 93 countries took part in Tokyo. At the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, 163 sets were competed in 19 sports. The Olympic flame was carried by a 19-year-old boy, Yoshinori Sakai, who became a symbol of life rebelling against atomic death. 422 swimmers (255 athletes and 167 athletes), representing 41 countries, arrived in Tokyo. The competitions were held in a specially constructed indoor Olympic pool with two central baths (one 50-meter long for swimming and water polo finals, the other for diving), a warm-up pool and stands that accommodated about 12 thousand spectators.

The results of the Tokyo swimmers' competition significantly exceeded the level of achievements of the participants in Rome, indicating the great progress of world sports swimming. If in Rome Olympic records were updated 30 times, and world records - 7, then in Tokyo they were set almost 2 times more, 55 and 14, respectively.
The Soviet swimming team included 21 people (13 men and 8 women), of which only two participants of the Games in Rome: Valentin Kuzmin and Georgy Prokopenko, who became European champions in 1962, two world record holders in breaststroke swimming: Sevastopol schoolgirl Galina Prozumenshchikova (200 m - 2.45.4) and student from Tashkent Svetlana Babanina (100 m - 1.17.2). In addition, crawlers Vladimir Shuvalov, Yuri Sumtsov, Semyon Belits-Geiman, Evgeniy Novikov and Alexander Paramonov (all from Moscow), Vladimir Berezin and Viktor Semchenkov (both from the Moscow region), Natalya Bystrova, Natalya Mikhailova (both from Moscow region) were introduced to the Olympic team for the first time. both - Moscow) and Natalya Ustinova (Tashkent); breaststroke swimmers Alexander Tutakaev (Tbilisi) and Vladimir Kosinsky (Vorkuta, Leningrad); butterfly players Oleg Fotin (Moscow), Tatyana Devyatova (Kharkov) and Valentina Yakovleva (Lvov); representatives of backstroke Viktor Mazanov (Moscow) and Tatyana Savelyeva (Leningrad). The leader of the swimmers team was Zakhary Pavlovich Firsov, the senior coach was Kirill Aleksandrovich Inyasevsky.
These Games became a turning point in our swimming; it was from that moment that our team broke into the elite of world swimming and began to compete on equal terms with the recognized grandees of world swimming.

Medals of the USSR national swimming team,
won at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad in 1964 in Tokyo (1-1-2):

The next FINA Congress took place in Tokyo, which reviewed and approved a number of significant additions to its Statutes and Rules. At the proposal of the USA, Japan and Great Britain, by a majority vote (representatives of socialist countries voted against), it was decided to expand the program of Olympic competitions from 18 to 29 numbers and to increase the size of the Olympic team of one country to 68 athletes. This decision gave the strongest countries in swimming (such as the USA) additional opportunities to receive Olympic medals. Small countries (and they are the majority within FINA) did not receive any advantages.
Congress elected a new FINA president, Bertil Phillips, a lawyer from Sydney (Australia). The Soviet representative Z. P. Firsov was again elected to the FINA Bureau. Soviet representatives were introduced into all three FINA committees (swimming, diving and water polo) - K. A. Inyasevsky, G. A. Burov and A. Yu. Kistyakovsky.