Vitaliy Popovich (Ukrainian: Віталій Попович; 22 October 1962 – 7 September 2000) was a Ukrainian male former racewalking athlete who competed in the 50 kilometres race walk. He competed in the men's 50 kilometres walk at the 1988 Summer Olympics, representing the Soviet Union, and in the same event at the 1996 Summer Olympics, representing Ukraine.[1] He was a three-time participant at the World Championships in Athletics, with a best of fourth at the 1991 event. He also competed at five straight editions of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup from 1989 to 1997.[2] He set a personal best of 3:43:57 hours for the distance in 1989.[3]
At national level, he won one Soviet title in 1991 and, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, took four 50 km walk titles at the Ukrainian Athletics Championships.[4][5] On the professional circuit, he was the 1996 winner at the Dudinská Päťdesiatka.[6]
Popovich committed suicide on 7 September 2000.
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | — | 20 km walk | DNF |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 26th | 50 km walk | 3:59:23 |
| 1989 | World Race Walking Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 6th | 50 km walk | 3:49:48 |
| 1st | Team | 585 pts | |||
| 1991 | World Race Walking Cup | San Jose, United States | — | 50 km walk | DQ |
| World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 4th | 50 km walk | 4:00:10 | |
| 1993 | World Race Walking Cup | Monterrey, Mexico | — | 50 km walk | DNF |
| World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | — | 50 km walk | DQ | |
| 1995 | World Race Walking Cup | Beijing, China | 14th | 50 km walk | 3:51:53 |
| 13th | Team | 333 pts | |||
| World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | — | 50 km walk | DQ | |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | — | 50 km walk | DNF |
| 1997 | World Race Walking Cup | Poděbrady, Czech Republic | — | 50 km walk | DNF |
| 1998 | European Race Walking Cup | Dudince, Slovakia | — | 50 km walk | DQ |
| 2000 | European Race Walking Cup | Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany | 32nd | 50 km walk | 4:10:40 |
National titles
edit- Soviet Athletics Championships
- 50 km walk: 1991[4]
- Ukrainian Athletics Championships
- 50 km walk: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997[5]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vitaliy Popovych Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ IAAF World Race Walking Cup 1961-2006 Facts & Figures. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
- ^ Vitality Popovich. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
- ^ a b Soviet Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
- ^ a b Ukrainian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
- ^ WINNERS OF THE DUDINSKA 50 IN WALKING. Dudince Walking. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
