Vladimir Golubnichy, (born June 2, 1936, Sumy, Ukraine, U.S.S.R.), Soviet race walker who gained 4 Olympic medals and dominated the 20-kilometre (12.43-mile) stroll within the Nineteen Sixties and ’70s.
Noted for his swinging stride, Golubnichy set his first 20-kilometre world report of 1 h 30 min 2.8 sec when he was 19 years outdated. At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he braved warmth, humidity, and protracted challengers to win the stroll by simply 9 seconds, with a time of 1 h 34 min 7.2 sec. After successful a bronze medal within the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo, he returned to the Games in 1968 in Mexico City and held off a livid late problem by José Pedraza of Mexico to win by solely three yards, clocking in at 1 h 33 min 58.4 sec. Golubnichy then completed a detailed second within the 1972 Munich Olympics and made his closing Olympic look, on the age of 40, in Montreal, ending seventh.
Golubnichy additionally gained medals on the European championships, ending third in 1962, second in 1966, and first in 1974. His greatest 20-kilometre stroll was timed at 1 h 23 min 55 sec in 1976.