Soviet Union at the Olympics

The Soviet Union sent athletes to the Olympic Games for the first time in 1952. They sent teams to the Games 18 simes since then. At six of the nine times at the Summer Olympic Games, the team was ranked first in the medal standings. It was ranked second at the other three Games. The team was ranked first seven times and second twice in nine times they sent teams to the Winter Olympic Games.

Soviet Union at the Olympics
Flag of the Soviet Union
IOC code	URS
NOC	Soviet Olympic Committee
Medals	Gold 473 Silver 376 Bronze 355 Total 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–)  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)

The Olympic Committee of the USSR was created on April 21, 1951. It was accepted by the IOC on May 7, 1951.

The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki was first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. On July 20, 1952, the first Olympic gold medal for the country was won by Nina Romashkova in the women's discus throw. Romashkova set the new Olympic record in the event. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo were the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. The first Winter Olympic gold medal for the Soviet Union was won by Lyubov Kozyreva in women's cross-country skiing 10 km event.

The USSR was the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. These Games were boycotted by the United States and many other countries. The USSR then led a boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

The USSR ended on December 26, 1991. The Olympic Committee of the USSR did not end until March 12, 1992.

In 1992, 12 of the 15 countries that had been part of the Soviet Union took part in the Games as the Unified Team. They used the Olympic Flag in the Barcelona Games. The Unified Team finished first in the medal rankings. The Unified Team also competed at the Albertville Winter Games earlier in the year. Only seven of the twelve countries took part. They finished second in the medal rankings at those Games.

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1952 Helsinki	295 (40)	22	30	19	71
1956 Melbourne	283 (39)	37	29	32	98
1960 Rome	284 (50)	43	29	31	103
1964 Tokyo	319 (63)	30	31	35	96
1968 Mexico City	313 (67)	29	32	30	91
1972 Munich	373 (71)	50	27	22	99
1976 Montreal		49	41	35	125
1980 Moscow (host nation)		80	69	46	195
1984 Los Angeles	did not compete
1988 Seoul		55	31	46	132
Total		395	319	296	1010

Medals by Winter Games

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	55 (7)	7	3	6	16
1960 Squaw Valley	62 (13)	7	5	9	21
1964 Innsbruck	69 (17)	11	8	6	25
1968 Grenoble	74 (21)	5	5	3	13
1972 Sapporo	78 (20)	8	5	3	16
1976 Innsbruck		13	6	8	27
1980 Lake Placid		10	6	6	22
1984 Sarajevo		6	10	9	25
1988 Calgary		11	9	9	29
Total		78	57	59	194

Medals by summer sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Gymnastics	73	67	44	184
Athletics	65	55	75	195
Wrestling	62	31	23	116
Weightlifting	39	21	2	62
Canoeing	29	13	9	51
Fencing	18	15	16	49
Shooting	17	15	17	49
Boxing	14	19	18	51
Swimming	13	21	26	60
Rowing	12	20	10	42
Cycling	11	4	8	23
Volleyball	7	4	1	12
Equestrian	6	5	4	15
Judo	5	5	13	23
Modern pentathlon	4	5	5	14
Sailing	4	5	3	12
Basketball	4	4	4	12
Handball	4	1	1	6
Diving	3	4	6	13
Water polo	2	2	3	7
Football	2	0	3	5
Archery	1	3	3	7
Field hockey	0	0	2	2
Total	395	319	296	1010

Medals by winter sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Cross-country skiing	25	22	21	68
Speed skating	24	17	19	60
Figure skating	10	9	5	24
Biathlon	9	5	5	19
Ice hockey	7	1	1	9
Luge	1	2	3	6
Bobsleigh	1	0	2	3
Ski jumping	1	0	0	1
Nordic combined	0	1	2	3
Alpine skiing	0	0	1	1
Total	78	57	59	194

Related pages

• List of IOC country codes

• Unified Team at the Olympics
• Russia at the Olympics

Other websites

Media related to Soviet Union at the Olympic Games at Wikimedia Commons

• "The USSR and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (84). International Olympic Committee: 530–557. October 1974. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
• "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
• Russian Federation profile at London2012.com Archived 2012-08-01 at the Wayback Machine