After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seems most of their athletes were Russian or Lithuanian. Any notable athletes from the “-stans”?
I’m sure there are plenty of Olympians who might fit the list, but I don’t follow a lot of the sports that aren’t big in North America. There are a couple of tennis players from Kazakhstan and one from Uzbekistan whose names I recognize, but none are very famous.
That’s about what I figured.
Kazakhstan has gold-medaled in men’s and women’s Olympic weightlifting, and has also had some success in boxing and wrestling. None of those athletes achieved any degree of fame in the US.
Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan was a reasonably successful cyclist during his career. (Which, like many others during that era, was marred by a 2-year suspension for blood doping from 2007-2009.)
Does Ukraine count? Oksana Baiul was the 1994 Olympic ladies’ figure skating gold medalist.
I don’t think the “-stans” have that many people, compared to the other countries.
Uzbekistan has about 30 million people and Kazakhstan has around 18 million, and the other three Soviet “stans” are in the 5- to 8-million range. I’m sure the low population is an issue when you think about countries producing famous athletes, but I think the wealth of the countries is probably a bigger issue.
Reading the thread just now, her name popped into my head. I think most skaters were from the former USSR were Russian or Ukrainian.
Marley-Yup, those are pretty big factors.
If so, Sergey Bubka deserves strong mention - easily the best pole vaulter of the 20th century.
I’m pretty sure that Kazakhstani weightlifter Ilya Ilyinhas never lost in international competition.
Not to mention the Klitschko brothers.
This page lists current NHL statistical leaders by country, including 8 from Kazakhstan.
Igor Paklin was from Kirgistan, though his career pretty much ended with the USSR.