Uļjana Larionovna Semjonova (Russian: Ульяна Ларионовна Семёнова, romanized: Ul'yana Larionovna Semyonova; born 9 March 1952) is a retired Latvian basketball player of Russian descent who competed for the Soviet Union.[1][2]
 Stefania Passaro boxing out Semjonova in 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 9 March 1952 Zarasai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Latvian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 213 cm (7 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 127 kg (280 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1968–1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1987 | TTT Riga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Tintoretto Getafe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Valenciennes-Orchies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIBA Hall of Fame as player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Standing at least 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)[3] Semjonova was the leading women's basketball player in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Wearing a men's size 21 (US) / 58 (EU) shoe, she was known for having the largest feet ever in women's basketball.[4][5] For almost all of her playing career, she played for TTT Riga, which was part of Daugava Voluntary Sports Society. With TTT, she won 15 championships in the Soviet Union and the European Champion's Cup 15 times. Semjonova was also very dominant in international play, winning two Olympic Gold medals while playing for the USSR in 1976 and 1980 and never lost a game in official international competition.[2]
She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1976,[6] and in 1993 became the first non-US woman enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame.[7] She was an inaugural member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 1999.[8] In 2007, she was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. During the 2007 Latvian sports personality of the year award ceremony, Semjonova received the Lifetime Contribution to Sport award.
References
edit- ^ Semjonova, Uļjana; Kresa, Inita (1996). Kad es biju laimīga. Rīga: Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja. p. 8. ISBN 9984-10-001-4.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Uļjana Semjonova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
- ^ Palmeri, Tancredi (3 January 2009). "Semionova sempre gigante "Dico solo grazie allo sport"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ^ Gazzetta dello Sport, Photoserie
- ^ Comparison with Bill Russell's footprint (size 16 US / size 52 EU),Photoserie Archived 8 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Khavin, Boris (1979). Всё об олимпийских играх [All About Olympic Games] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 578.
- ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
External links
edit
- Uliana Semjonova at FIBA (also at FIBA Archive)
- Uļjana Semjonova international stats at Basketball-Reference.com
- Uļjana Semjonova at Olympedia
- Iuliana Semenova at Olympics.com
- Uljana Semjonova, the Soviet paving roller of 2,13 meters www.abc.es/historia (Spanish)
- http://www.encancha.com/fotos/foto23810.html At Tintoretto Getafe in the 1987-88 league.
- Basketball Hall of Fame entry at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 April 2010)
- FIBA Hall of Fame page on Semjonova at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 June 2007)
- Hoopedia bio
