Soviet Union at the Olympics

Participation of athletes from the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games

The Soviet Union sent athletes to the Olympic Games for the first time in 1952. They sent teams to the Games 18 simes since then. At six of the nine times at the Summer Olympic Games, the team was ranked first in the medal standings. It was ranked second at the other three Games. The team was ranked first seven times and second twice in nine times they sent teams to the Winter Olympic Games.

Soviet Union at the
Olympics
IOC codeURS
NOCSoviet Olympic Committee
Medals
Gold
473
Silver
376
Bronze
355
Total
1,204
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
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 (1994–2016)
 Ukraine (1994–)
 Uzbekistan (1994–)
 Azerbaijan (1996–)
 Tajikistan (1996–)
 Turkmenistan (1996–)
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (2018W)

The Olympic Committee of the USSR was created on April 21, 1951. It was accepted by the IOC on May 7, 1951.

The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki was first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. On July 20, 1952, the first Olympic gold medal for the country was won by Nina Romashkova in the women's discus throw. Romashkova set the new Olympic record in the event. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo were the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. The first Winter Olympic gold medal for the Soviet Union was won by Lyubov Kozyreva in women's cross-country skiing 10 km event.

The USSR was the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. These Games were boycotted by the United States and many other countries. The USSR then led a boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

The USSR ended on December 26, 1991. The Olympic Committee of the USSR did not end until March 12, 1992.

In 1992, 12 of the 15 countries that had been part of the Soviet Union took part in the Games as the Unified Team. They used the Olympic Flag in the Barcelona Games. The Unified Team finished first in the medal rankings. The Unified Team also competed at the Albertville Winter Games earlier in the year. Only seven of the twelve countries took part. They finished second in the medal rankings at those Games.

Medal tables

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Medals by Summer Games

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Games Athletes[1] Gold Silver Bronze Total
1952 Helsinki 295 (40) 22 30 19 71
1956 Melbourne 283 (39) 37 29 32 98
1960 Rome 284 (50) 43 29 31 103
1964 Tokyo 319 (63) 30 31 35 96
1968 Mexico City 313 (67) 29 32 30 91
1972 Munich 373 (71) 50 27 22 99
1976 Montreal 49 41 35 125
1980 Moscow (host nation) 80 69 46 195
1984 Los Angeles did not compete
1988 Seoul 55 31 46 132
Total 395 319 296 1010

Medals by Winter Games

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Games Athletes[1] Gold Silver Bronze Total
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 55 (7) 7 3 6 16
1960 Squaw Valley 62 (13) 7 5 9 21
1964 Innsbruck 69 (17) 11 8 6 25
1968 Grenoble 74 (21) 5 5 3 13
1972 Sapporo 78 (20) 8 5 3 16
1976 Innsbruck 13 6 8 27
1980 Lake Placid 10 6 6 22
1984 Sarajevo 6 10 9 25
1988 Calgary 11 9 9 29
Total 78 57 59 194

Medals by summer sport

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Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Gymnastics 73 67 44 184
Athletics 65 55 75 195
Wrestling 62 31 23 116
Weightlifting 39 21 2 62
Canoeing 29 13 9 51
Fencing 18 15 16 49
Shooting 17 15 17 49
Boxing 14 19 18 51
Swimming 13 21 26 60
Rowing 12 20 10 42
Cycling 11 4 8 23
Volleyball 7 4 1 12
Equestrian 6 5 4 15
Judo 5 5 13 23
Modern pentathlon 4 5 5 14
Sailing 4 5 3 12
Basketball 4 4 4 12
Handball 4 1 1 6
Diving 3 4 6 13
Water polo 2 2 3 7
Football 2 0 3 5
Archery 1 3 3 7
Field hockey 0 0 2 2
Total 395 319 296 1010

Medals by winter sport

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Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Cross-country skiing 25 22 21 68
Speed skating 24 17 19 60
Figure skating 10 9 5 24
Biathlon 9 5 5 19
Ice hockey 7 1 1 9
Luge 1 2 3 6
Bobsleigh 1 0 2 3
Ski jumping 1 0 0 1
Nordic combined 0 1 2 3
Alpine skiing 0 0 1 1
Total 78 57 59 194
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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Total number, number of women is in brackets.

Other websites

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  Media related to Soviet Union at the Olympic Games at Wikimedia Commons

  • "The USSR and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (84). International Olympic Committee: 530–557. October 1974. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  • "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
  • Russian Federation profile at London2012.com Archived 2012-08-01 at the Wayback Machine