List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics

Flag bearers carry the national flag of their country at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Soviet officials expected the flag bearer to show an example of an attractive, physically strong person and a distinguished athlete. He was expected to carry the flag through the Olympic ceremony in one hand unsupported by a harness. This presented a formidable physical task as the flag weighed 16 kilograms (35 lb) in the 1960s, and a sudden wind might further increase the physical load. Hence the Soviet flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics were selected from among heavyweight weightlifters or wrestlers, who did not have to compete the next day.[1]

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 (2018)
 ROC (2020–2022)
 Individual Neutral Athletes (2024)
Soviet Union team at the opening ceremony of the 1952 Olympics, led by Yakov Kutsenko

Soviet officials also expected the flag bearer to win a gold medal at the given Olympics. This resulted in absurd situations at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics, when the selected flag bearers, Yakov Kutsenko and Aleksey Medvedev respectively, were not allowed to compete because the officials did not believe they would win a gold medal. Both were top-level heavyweight weightlifters. Kutsenko placed second at the 1950 World Championships and Medvedev won the world title in 1956 and 1957.[1]

Below is a list of flag bearers who have represented the Soviet Union at the Olympics.[2]

# Event year Season Flag bearer Sport
1 1952 Summer Yakov Kucenko Weightlifting
2 1956 Winter Oleg Goncharenko Speed skating
3 1956 Summer Aleksey Medvedev Weightlifting
4 1960 Winter Nikolai Sologubov Ice hockey
5 1960 Summer Yury Vlasov Weightlifting
6 1964 Winter Yevgeny Grishin Speed skating
7 1964 Summer Yury Vlasov Weightlifting
8 1968 Winter Viktor Mamatov Biathlon
9 1968 Summer Leonid Zhabotinsky Weightlifting
10 1972 Winter Vyacheslav Vedenin Cross-country skiing
11 1972 Summer Aleksandr Medved Wrestling
12 1976 Winter Vladislav Tretyak Ice hockey
13 1976 Summer Vasily Alekseyev Weightlifting
14 1980 Winter Alexander Tikhonov Biathlon
15 1980 Summer Nikolay Balboshin Wrestling
16 1984 Winter Vladislav Tretyak Ice hockey
17 1988 Winter Andrey Bukin Figure skating
18 1988 Summer Aleksandr Karelin Wrestling

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kochetkov, Aleksandr (8 August 2008) Флагманы сборной. newizv.ru
  2. ^ Soviet Union. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 25 October 2011.