Igor Ter-Ovanesyan
Encyclopedia
Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan ' onMouseout='HidePop("95489")' href="/topics/Kiev">Kiev
) is a Ukrainian
athlete of Armenian
ethnicity, and Olympic medalist in the long jump
for the USSR
.
Ter-Ovanesyan trained at Burevestnik, first in Kiev
, later in Lviv
and then in Moscow
. He participated in the Olympic Games five times (1956
, 1960
, 1964
, 1968
, 1972
) and twice won a bronze medal (in 1960 and 1964). He also repeatedly took medals at the European Championships
: golden in 1958, 1962 and 1969, silver in 1966 and 1971.
Igor Ter-Ovanesyan beat the world record on two occasions:
At that time he was competing for the world champion title with the American long jumper Ralph Boston
.
After retiring from his active career, he became a coach of the Soviet national long jumpers' squad. He currently coaches Ineta Radēviča
among others.
and recruited to help secure Ter-Ovanesyan's defection
. Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
) is a Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
athlete of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
ethnicity, and Olympic medalist in the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
for the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Ter-Ovanesyan trained at Burevestnik, first in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, later in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and then in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He participated in the Olympic Games five times (1956
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
, 1960
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
, 1964
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
, 1968
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
, 1972
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
) and twice won a bronze medal (in 1960 and 1964). He also repeatedly took medals at the European Championships
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
: golden in 1958, 1962 and 1969, silver in 1966 and 1971.
Igor Ter-Ovanesyan beat the world record on two occasions:
- 8.31 metres on 10 July 1962 in YerevanYerevanYerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
- 8.35 metres on 19 October 1967 in Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
At that time he was competing for the world champion title with the American long jumper Ralph Boston
Ralph Boston
Ralph Harold Boston is an American athlete. He was an all around athletic star, but he is best remembered for his successes in the long jump during the 1960s....
.
After retiring from his active career, he became a coach of the Soviet national long jumpers' squad. He currently coaches Ineta Radēviča
Ineta Radevica
Ineta Radēviča is a Latvian athlete, competing in the long jump and triple jump.Radēviča won the bronze medal in the 2003 European U-23 championship. She has also won two NCAA championships, while competing for the University of Nebraska. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, she was 13th in the triple...
among others.
Olympics
- 1960 RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
: Bronze with 8,04 m behind Ralph BostonRalph BostonRalph Harold Boston is an American athlete. He was an all around athletic star, but he is best remembered for his successes in the long jump during the 1960s....
with 8,12 m and Bo RobersonBo RobersonIrvin Roberson was an American track and field athlete and American collegiate and Professional Football player. At Cornell University he excelled in basketball, football and track and field...
with 8,11 m. - 1964 TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
: Bronze with 7,99 m behind Great Britain's Lynn DaviesLynn DaviesLynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
with 8,07 m and Ralph BostonRalph BostonRalph Harold Boston is an American athlete. He was an all around athletic star, but he is best remembered for his successes in the long jump during the 1960s....
with 8,03 m - 1968 MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
: Fourth with 8,12 m behind Bob BeamonBob BeamonRobert "Bob" Beamon is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, which remained the world record for almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. This is the second longest holding of this record, as...
with 8,90 m, Klaus BeerKlaus BeerKlaus Beer is a former track and field athlete active in the 1960s for East Germany.Beer was born in Liegnitz , Province of Lower Silesia....
(GDR) with 8,19 m and Ralph BostonRalph BostonRalph Harold Boston is an American athlete. He was an all around athletic star, but he is best remembered for his successes in the long jump during the 1960s....
with 8,16 m.
European championships
- 1958 StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
: Gold with 7,81 m before Kazimierz Kropidłowski with 7,67 m and Henryk Grabowski with 7,51 m . - 1962 BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
: Gold with 8,19 m before Rainer Stenius and Pentti Eskola, both with 7,85 m - 1966 BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
: Silver with 7,88 m behind Lynn DaviesLynn DaviesLynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
with 7,98 m and before Jean Cochard with 7,88 m - 1969 AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
: Gold with 8,17 m before Lynn DaviesLynn DaviesLynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
with 8,07 m and Tõnu Lepik with 8,04 m - 1971 HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
: Silver with 7,91 m behind Max Klauss with 7,92 m and before Stanisław Szundrowicz with 7,87 m
Defection target
On the eve of the Rome Olympics, fellow sprinter Dave Sime was approached by the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and recruited to help secure Ter-Ovanesyan's defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
. Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.