Olympic Legends - Latvia’s Tower Of Power
LONDON (Olympics) - In the 1970s and 1980s, Latvia center Uljana Semjonova towered above women basketball. A giant 2.13m in height, Semjonova never lost a game in international competition while playing in the USSR national team from 1968 to 1986. Twice Semjonova celebrated gold-medal wins at Olympic Games. In 1976, when the women’s ...
LONDON (Olympics) - In the 1970s and 1980s, Latvia center Uljana Semjonova towered above women basketball.
A giant 2.13m in height, Semjonova never lost a game in international competition while playing in the USSR national team from 1968 to 1986.
Twice Semjonova celebrated gold-medal wins at Olympic Games.
In 1976, when the women’s tournament was staged at the Olympics for the first time, she led the Soviets with averages of 19.4 points and 12.4 rebounds.
In a much anticipated game against the United States, Semjonova had 32 points and 19 boards in just 23 minutes.
Four years later in Moscow, Semjonova underlined her dominance in the sport as the Soviets captured another gold on home soil.
The USSR cruised to six consecutive victories in Moscow, winning all of their games by 31 points or more.
In the battle for gold, the Soviets thrashed Bulgaria 104-73.
From 1970 to 1985, Semjonova was voted the most popular athlete in her country 12 times.
In 2007, Semjonova was enshrined as a player in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
She had been the first non-US entry into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame back in 1993.
FIBA