Soviet Union at the Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Soviet Union at the Olympics
Flag of the Soviet Union
IOC code	URS
NOC	Soviet Olympic Committee
Medals Ranked 2nd	Gold Silver Bronze Total 473 376 355 1,204
Summer appearances
1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988
Winter appearances
1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988
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 (1994–2022)  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 (2018W)  ROC (2020)  ROC (2022)

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and competed at the Summer and Winter Games on 18 occasions subsequently. At six of its nine appearances at the Summer Olympic Games, the Soviet team ranked first in the total number of gold medals won, second three times, and became the biggest contender to the United States' domination in the Summer Games. Similarly, the team was ranked first in the gold medal count seven times and second twice in its nine appearances at the Winter Olympic Games. The Soviet Union's success might be attributed to a heavy state investment in sports to fulfill its political objectives on an international stage.

Following the Russian Revolution of November 1917 and the Russian Civil War (1917–1922), the Soviet Union did not participate in international sporting events on ideological grounds; however, after World War II (1939–1945), dominating the Olympic Games came to be seen by Soviet officials and leaders as a useful method of promoting communism. The Olympic Committee of the USSR was formed on April 21, 1951, and the IOC recognised the new body in its 45th session (May 7, 1951). In the same year, when the Soviet representative Konstantin Andrianov became an IOC member, the USSR officially joined the Olympic Movement.

The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki thus became first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. On July 20, 1952 Nina Romashkova won the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport, competing in the women's discus throw. Romashkova's result in this event (51.42 m) was the new Olympic record at that time.

The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo became the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. There Lyubov Kozyreva won the first Winter Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport, competing in the women's cross-country skiing 10 km event.

The USSR became the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States and many other countries boycotted these Games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; the USSR led a boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

Although the USSR ceased to exist on December 26, 1991, The Olympic Committee of the USSR formally existed until March 12, 1992, when it disbanded.

In 1992, 7 of the 15 former Soviet Republics competed together as the Unified Team and marched under the Olympic Flag in the Albertville Games, where they finished second in the medal rankings. The Unified Team also competed in the Barcelona Games later in the year (represented by 12 of the 15 ex-Republics), and finished first in the medal rankings at those Games.

Hosted Games

Soviet Union has hosted the Games on one occasion.

Unsuccessful bids

Participation

Timeline of participation

Date	Team
1900–1912	Russian Empire (RU1)
1920	Estonia (EST)
1924–1936		Latvia (LAT)	Lithuania (LTU)	as part of  Romania
1952–1988	Soviet Union (URS)
1992	Estonia (EST)	Latvia (LAT)	Lithuania (LTU)	Unified Team (EUN)
1994				Moldova (MDA)	Russia (RUS)	Belarus (BLR)	Armenia (ARM),  Georgia (GEO),  Kazakhstan (KAZ),  Kyrgyzstan (KGZ),  Ukraine (UKR),  Uzbekistan (UZB)
1996–2016								Azerbaijan (AZE),  Tajikistan (TJK),  Turkmenistan (TKM)
2018					Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
2020–2022					Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)
2024–					Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN)

Medal tables

*Purple border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Medals by Summer Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1952 Helsinki 295 22 30 19 71 2 1956 Melbourne 283 37 29 32 98 1 1960 Rome 284 43 29 31 103 1 1964 Tokyo 319 30 31 35 96 2 1968 Mexico City 313 29 32 30 91 2 1972 Munich 373 50 27 22 99 1 1976 Montreal 410 49 41 35 125 1 1980 Moscow 489 80 69 46 195 1 1984 Los Angeles did not participate 1988 Seoul 481 55 31 46 132 1 Total 395 319 296 1010 2

Medals by Winter Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 55 7 3 6 16 1 1960 Squaw Valley 62 7 5 9 21 1 1964 Innsbruck 69 11 8 6 25 1 1968 Grenoble 74 5 5 3 13 2 1972 Sapporo 78 8 5 3 16 1 1976 Innsbruck 79 13 6 8 27 1 1980 Lake Placid 86 10 6 6 22 1 1984 Sarajevo 99 6 10 9 25 2 1988 Calgary 101 11 9 9 29 1 Total 78 57 59 194 4

See also

In Spanish: Unión Soviética en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

• List of flag bearers for the Soviet Union at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for the Soviet Union
• Soviet Union at the Paralympics