Famous Belarusian Sportspersons

Olga Korbut is a former gymnast who represented the Soviet Union in two Olympic Games, winning four gold medals and two silver medals. Nicknamed the Sparrow from Minsk, Korbut also participated in the 18th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships where she won two gold medals and four silver medals. In 1988, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. 

Andrei Arlovski, also known as “The Pitbull,” is a Belarusian MMA fighter who is known for his UFC Heavyweight Championship win. He has also appeared in films such as Universal Soldier: Regeneration and been part of shows such as MTV's Bully Beatdown. He has competed for Strikeforce and Affliction, too.

Known as the Belarusian Swan, Svetlana Boginskaya started off as a figure skater before moving on to gymnastics at age 6. By 14, she was part of the Soviet national gymnastics team. The three-time Olympic champion is now settled in Texas and owns businesses that provide gymnastics camps and apparel.

Legendary Soviet chess player Boris Gelfand is known for being part of the world’s top 20 players for most of his life. His accomplishments include two Belarusian national titles and a Chess World Cup. An author, too, he has co-written books such as Positional Decision Making in Chess.

Nikolai Morozov is a Russian retired ice dancer, choreographer, and figure skating coach. Morozov represented Belarus at the 1998 Winter Olympics and World Championships. He is credited with coaching Japanese figure skater Shizuka Arakawa at the 2006 Olympics where she won the gold medal. Nikolai Morozov also coached Miki Ando to a couple of world titles.

Soviet Greco-Roman wrestler Mark Slavin had chosen wrestling as a means to defend himself against anti-Semitic attacks. He moved to Israel 4 months before the Munich Olympics and represented Israel in the event. At 18, he was the youngest victim of the Munich massacre and died during a failed rescue attempt.

Siarhei Rutenka is a Belarusian retired handball player who also played for the Slovenia national handball team from 2004 to 2007, apart from playing for the Belarus national team. While representing Slovenia in 2006 at the European Men's Handball Championship, Rutenka was the top goalscorer of the tournament. Rutenka also played for popular clubs like FC Barcelona and Arkatron Minsk.