新澳门开奖结果

Top 20 Famous Russian Athletes

Originally published by Lilian in May 2020 and Updated by Ian S in May 2024.

When thinking of sports and Russia, the doping ban that was slapped on the country in 2017 may cross one鈥檚 mind.

This was done by IAAF because the country was accused f not doing enough to reduce the doping cases. This ban is for four years.

This ban put a stain on this big Nation. Russian athletes that were given the clean bill of health were made to use neutral flags and not even the national anthem was played.

Although the ban may have tarnished the country鈥檚 reputation in sports, some great sportsmen and women have excelled in sports.

Here is our list of the top 20 famous Russian Athletes.

1. Maria Sharapova

By Yan Nasilevich – Wikimedia

First on the list is Maria Sharapova a renown tennis player. She became the world number one in 2005 when she was 18 years old.

She was the first Russian female player to be at the top of the singles ranking. She held the position for the fifth time in 2012.

Sharapova has won five Grand Slam titles, two of which were at the French Open, one at the Australian Open, another at Wimbledon and a final one at the US Open.

She won 36 titles in total and three double titles.

Other than playing tennis, Sharapova also doubles as a model. She has modelled in sports-related swimsuit issues and also was the face of many fashion houses. She has also appeared in several advertisements with the best sports companies such as; Nike, Prince, and Canon.

In 2007 Sharapova was named as the United Nations Development Programme鈥檚 Goodwill Ambassador for the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme.

She also got to be named among the top 30 Legend women in Tennis.

Sharapova got a two-year ban on Tennis from the world anti-doping agency for failing a drug test.

It was reduced to 15 months after she was found that she had taken the banned substance unknown to her as recommended by her doctor.

She returned to the tennis court in April 2017 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Video courtesy of youtube

Khabib is a renown Russian wrestler who has never lost a round in his fighting career.

He began wrestling at an early age, a common practice among his community in Dagestan.

His father coached him when he was 8 years old. Khabib鈥檚 father was also a decorated wrestler who served in the military and got trained in judo and sambo.

The most ridiculous bit of Khabib鈥檚 training is when he allegedly wrestled a bear

when he was only 9 years old.

After his family moved from Dagestan in 2001, he continued his training until he was 12 then switched to judo when he turned 15.

When he turned 17, Khabib trained in combat sambo still trained by his father. His father is also the senior coach for the combat sambo national team in Dagestan, training several athletes in sambo in Makhachkala, Russia

He has fought with notable names such as Conor McGregor. In 2018, the two had a big fight in Las Vegas. He emerged a winner after the fourth round via submission.

Other than being a superb wrestler, Khabib is multi-lingual, he speaks Avar, Russian, English, Turkish, and Arabic.

3. Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin is another celebrated Russian athlete. He is one of the best ice hockey players in the world.

Alexander comes from a family of athletes. His mother won the Olympic gold medal twice in 1976 and 1980 while playing for the Soviet women鈥檚 national basketball team. His father, on the other hand, played professional football.

His skills and experience on the rink have been termed as being excellent especially on skating, intense finishing, and a good shot with a strong will to win.

He has won the Hart Memorial Trophy three times; in 2008, 2009 and 2013. They were awarded to him as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League.

In 2018 he led the Washington Capitals for their first Stanley Cup Championship.

His personal best was when he won the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy in the 2007-2008 season.

He had recorded a total of 65 goals and had earned his team, he also got the Art Ross Trophy for scoring 112 points.

Alexander has several titles and trophies under his name.

4. Svetlana Khorkina

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

Svetlana Khorkina is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She has competed in several competitions and represented her country too. She has been to the 1999, 2000, 2004 summer Olympics.

She has won 7 Olympic medals and a whopping 20 world championship medals.

She is said to be one of the most successful female gymnasts of all time.

Svetlana has proved to be an extraordinary gymnast who has won a medal in all

The events at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Svetlana is also among the first athletes to win three all-around titles at the World Championships. She was the only second female artistic gymnast to win three European all-round titles.

After she retired in 2005, she was named the Vice president of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation.

She has also been a sports commentator at the Beijing Olympics’ gymnastics competition for the Russian TV station NTV.

She has also been an ambassador for the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is a member of the political party of United Russia, was elected as a deputy for the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2013 and has published a book titled 鈥楽omersaults in High Heels鈥�.

5. Anna Chicherova

Anna Chicherova is a Russian high jumper who won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2012 London Olympics.

Anna won her first major title in the high jump in the 1999 world youth championships.

She continued bagging several medals in the years that followed. In 2008, she won a bronze medal in 2008 summer Olympics and the 2013 and 2015 World Championship.

Although this medal was stripped away from her in 2016 after she failed a performance-enhancing drug test.

In 2010, Anna took a break from competing after learning she was expecting a child. She came back in 2011 and went back to her top position as the leading female in the high jump.

Her personal best record and her country is 2.07 meters that she set in 2011 and 2.06 meters in 2012.

She is among the top ten high jump athletes in both indoors and outdoors games.

6. Adelina Sotnikova

Adelina Sotnikova, was Russia鈥檚 first female athlete to win the gold medal in figure skating singles. She, however, announced that she was ending her career at 23 after being away from the game for a long time due to injuries.

She was born in July 1996 and showed interest in skating at the age of 4 when she would go with her parents to an ice rink near her hometown.

Her first professional performance was in 2009 when she competed at the senior level and won the gold medal at 12.

When she was 17, she beat the champion and record holder, Yuna Kim from South Korea. She won the gold in Sochi winter Olympics.

The win was however said to be controversial; her fellow skaters and commentators questioned her win saying that Kim鈥檚 technical expertise was way better and had made no errors.

Adelina was the third Russian female athlete to win in an Olympic single skating medal after Irina Slutskaya.

Adelina had a promising career in figure skating but the constant injuries made her not defend her title and hence opted to retire early.

7. Fedor Emelianenko- 鈥渢he Last Emperor鈥�

video courtesy of youtube

Fedor Emelianenko, nicknamed the last emperor, is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist specialized in sambo, and judo.

Fedor is said to be one of the best mixed martial artists and has had the best ground-and-pound in the history of the sport.

While starting his career, Fedor began at the Russian Top team where he was coached by Volk Han and Andrei Kopylov.

He has a 9-year unbeaten record, he has won 27 fights with no single defeat and has had 14 wins under the PRIDE banner in Japan.

Fedor is said to have a 鈥榮uperhuman chin鈥� that puts him at the level of mythical figures and status.

His 2005 win was by far his best and biggest. He fought Mirko Filipovic to win the heavyweight marbles.

He was named the greatest mixed martial artist of all time by big names such as Chuck Norris and Mike Tyson. He is among the top world richest mixed martial arts fighters.

In his 20-year career, Fedor has fought and won against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira two times, Mark Coleman two times, Kevin Randleman, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir.

8. Vitaly Petrov

By Morio – Wikimedia

Vitaly Petrov is a racing car driver and was the first Russian to drive in Formula One for Renault, Lotus Renault GP and Caterham.

He began his racing career in Russia and won the Lada saloon cars Championships then after opted to compete in Europe. He is commonly referred to as the Vyborg Rocket, after his hometown.

In 2006, Vitaly joined the F3000 Euro series finishing third. He then moved up to GP2 and drove for DAMS in the second half of the season.

He joined Campos in 2008 and had his best season in 2009. He took the lead in the championship before his teammate Grosjean was sent to replace Nelson Piquet Jnr at Renault in F1.

Vitaly became the runner-up in the GP2 and was able to be consistent on his wins. This kept him ahead of his opponent Lucas di Grassi.

Later in 2010, Vitaly joined the Renault team. He then moved to Caterham after a short while.

By 2013, he was not signed under any team and became the first Russian ex-F1 driver. With no option left, he joined the Enduro team in SPM racing.

9. Oleg Taktarov- 鈥渢he Russian Bear鈥�

Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a former Russian mixed martial artist now turned an actor.

While actively participating in professional fights, Oleg who was nicknamed the Russian Bear, specialized in sambo and judo.

He took part in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he won 6 tournaments and Pride Fighting Championships.

He became the global hero in sambo championships, the Russian National judo championship and was a 4-time European and Asian Jujitsu champion.

In 1995, he beat David Abbot also known as Tank. This made him the reigning champion of UFC.

After retiring from the sport, Oleg went into acting and is now among the most popular movie stars in Russia. He is also a film director.

He has published his autobiography titled 鈥楿 to the Top鈥�.

10. Lidiya Skoblikova

By Koch, Eric / Anefo -Wikimedia

The final one on the list is Lidiya Skoblikova a retired Russian speed skater and coach.

Lidiya represented her country in the former USSR Olympic team during the winter Olympics of 1960, 1964 and 1968. She won 6 medals a record for speed skaters.

She remains to be the first athlete to win more gold medals in the Winter Olympics.

Lidiya has several other medals under her belt in world championships and in national championships too.

She led the Russian team to win in the 500-meter skating race. She also set a record in the 1,500-meter skating race, winning by 2.9 seconds.

She also won the 1000 and 3000 meters consecutively making her the first-ever athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics game.

11. Yelena Isinbayeva

, , via Wikimedia Commons

As one of the most famous and accomplished Russian athletes of all time, Yelena Isinbayeva’s pole vaulting prowess is unmatched.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008) and three-time World Champion (2005, 2007, 2013) soared to unprecedented heights, setting a remarkable 28 world record throughout her illustrious career.

Isinbayeva’s greatness transcended mere numbers, as she became the first woman to clear the iconic 5-meter barrier, her 5.06m outdoor mark etching her name into the annals of sporting legends. 

Beyond her athletic brilliance, Isinbayeva’s impact resonated globally, earning her accolades like the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year thrice and the prestigious Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year honors twice.

 With a captivating journey that took her from youth championships to senior glory, this Russian dynamo’s relentless pursuit of excellence solidified her status as the indisputable queen of pole vaulting and an inspiration to athletes worldwide.

12. Evgeni Plushenko

, , via Wikimedia Commons

We can’t discuss famous Russian athletes without celebrating the artistry and accolades of Evgeni Plushenko. This figure skating virtuoso captivated audiences with his grace and skill, amassing an astonishing collection of accomplishments.

A four-time Olympic medalist, including gold in 2006 and a historic team gold in 2014, Plushenko’s prowess on the ice was unparalleled.

He reigned supreme as a three-time World Champion, a seven-time European Champion, and a remarkable ten-time Russian national titleholder. Plushenko’s dominance extended to the Grand Prix circuit, where he etched his name in the record books with an unprecedented 22 titles.

From his balletic movements to his unwavering competitive spirit, this Russian icon transcended the boundaries of his sport, elevating figure skating to new heights and cementing his legacy as one of the nation’s most beloved and accomplished athletes.

13. Andrey Arshavin

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Coming from the vast expanse of Russia, Andrey Arshavin etched his name among the Famous Russian Athletes. His journey began at Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he won trophies like the Russian Premier League, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup, earning the Russian Footballer of the Year award.

UEFA Euro 2008 witnessed Arshavin’s breakout performance, propelling Russia to the semi-finals while securing him a 6th place Ballon d’Or finish. This paved the way for his record-breaking 拢15 million move to Arsenal, making him their most expensive player then.

Arshavin eventually rejoined Zenit, initially on loan, then permanently in 2013. Since 2019, he’s held administrative posts there, becoming Deputy General Director for Sports Development in 2022 and joining the executive board in the summer of 2023.

14. Pavel Datsyuk

, , via Wikimedia Commons

No one epitomizes Russian athletic excellence quite like Pavel Datsyuk, the “Magic Man” of hockey. Among the Famous Russian Athletes, Datsyuk dazzled with his incredible stickhandling and creativity for the Detroit Red Wings from 2001 to 2016, earning a place among the “100 Greatest NHL Players.”

He captured Stanley Cup glory in 2002 and 2008 before winning the Gagarin Cup with SKA Saint Petersburg in 2017. Representing Russia at four Olympics, including captaining the team in 2014 and 2018, Datsyuk achieved Triple Gold Club status with his 2018 gold medal.

A three-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defensive forward and four-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy recipient, Datsyuk’s elite defensive prowess complemented his game-changing offensive skills, cementing his legendary status.

15. Alina Zagitova

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Displaying an unparalleled blend of grace and athleticism, Alina Zagitova etched her name as one of the Famous Russian Athletes.

This retired figure skating phenomenon left an indelible mark, becoming the 2018 Olympic champion, 2019 World champion, 2018 European champion, 2017鈥�18 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 2018 Russian national champion.

Zagitova’s Olympic silver in the team event cemented her status as the only Russian female skater to win gold at every major competition, including the Super Slam. Breaking records under both scoring systems, she achieved numerous firsts, becoming the youngest and second skater ever to win all prestigious titles.

Zagitova’s groundbreaking success as the first Muslim athlete to triumph at the Olympics, Worlds, and beyond, solidified her legacy as a true Russian sporting icon.

16. Anna Kournikova

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is true that while success on the tennis court eluded her, Anna Kournikova’s fame and celebrity status cemented her place among the Famous Russian Athletes.

Despite never winning a singles title, she reached the world’s top 10 in 2000 and achieved even greater success in doubles, becoming the world’s No. 1 partner. 

Alongside Martina Hingis, she claimed Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002, as well as the WTA Championships in 1999 and 2000, dubbing themselves the “Spice Girls of Tennis.” Kournikova’s stunning looks and global popularity made her one of the most sought-after athletes online during her peak.

Although injuries forced her retirement in 2003 from Tennis, her transition to modeling, television, and philanthropic endeavors ensured her enduring legacy as a Russian sporting icon.

17. Daniil Medvedev

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Who does not get captivated by the remarkable feats of Daniil Medvedev? Among the Famous Russian Athletes, this tennis phenomenon has etched his name in history as a former world No. 1 and the current No. 4 ranked player. 

With 20 ATP Tour singles titles under his belt, including the 2021 US Open and 2020 ATP Finals triumphs, Medvedev’s prowess is undeniable. His momentous victory over Novak Djokovic in the US Open final denied the Serbian legend the Grand Slam, cementing Medvedev’s status as a giant slayer. 

Remarkably, he became the only player to defeat the top three ranked players en route to the year-end championship title. Medvedev’s six Masters titles, each at a different venue, further exemplify his versatility and dominance on the court.

18. Vera Krepkina

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Such athleticism and dedication are hallmarks of the greats, and Vera Krepkina embodied these traits, solidifying her place among the Famous Russian Athletes.

The Soviet-Ukrainian track and field star left an indelible mark on the Olympics, competing for the Soviet Union in 1952, 1956, and 1960.

While narrowly missing out on medals in the 100m sprint and 4x100m relay, Krepkina’s crowning achievement came in the 1960 long jump, where she clinched a surprise gold with an Olympic record leap of 6.37m, surpassing the defending champion and world record holder.

Krepkina’s excellence extended to the European Championships, with gold medals in the 4x100m relay in 1954 and 1958, and a silver in the 100m in 1958. Her illustrious career included eight Soviet titles and a world record in the 4x100m relay, cementing her status as a Russian sporting legend.

19. Artem Dzyuba

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The professional football striker, currently plying his trade with Lokomotiv Moscow and the Russian national team, has etched his name in the record books as the all-time top scorer in the Russian Premier League with a staggering 148 goals.

Dzyuba’s journey began with Spartak Moscow, where he made 166 appearances and found the net 38 times. After loan spells at Tom Tomsk and Rostov, where he won the 2013鈥�14 Russian Cup, he joined Zenit in 2015, further solidifying his reputation as a prolific goalscorer.

On the international stage, Dzyuba has represented Russia at UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2020, becoming the nation’s joint-top scorer alongside Aleksandr Kerzhakov with 30 goals.

His consistent brilliance and record-breaking exploits have undoubtedly cemented his legacy as a Russian footballing icon.

20. Alexander Golovin

For one, Aleksandr Golovin is among the famous Russian athletes, renowned for his exceptional skills on the football field. He captains Russia’s national team as an attacking midfielder and left winger for Monaco. 

Golovin showcased his talent early, winning the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. His remarkable journey continued as he represented Russia in the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, securing second place.

With his debut for the national team in 2015, Golovin left an indelible mark, scoring a crucial goal. His performances at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020 further solidified his status as a Russian football prodigy.