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.

Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka has been a 2-time Australian Open champion, scripting history as the first Belarusian player to earn a Grand Slam singles title. She is also a 3-time US Open finalist and has a mixed-doubles gold and a singles bronze at the Olympics.

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.

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka has had a career-high singles ranking of 2. She has 2 Grand Slam doubles titles in her kitty and is the current world number 1 in doubles. Her unique tiger tattoo on her left arm has earned her the nickname The Tiger.

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.

Alexander Hleb is a Belarusian retired football player who played as a midfielder for the Belarus national team from 2001 to 2019. Renowned for his agility, dribbling, and passing ability, Hleb was named Belarusian Footballer of the Year on six occasions. He also played for popular clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona, winning the 2009 UEFA Champions League with the latter.

Retired Belarusian artistic gymnast Vitaly Scherbo became the only male gymnast to win a world title in all 8 events. He has also won 6 gold medals in the Olympics and was the first person to win 4 gold medals in one day. The Scherbo vault has been named after him.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has won several titles and medals, including 2 European Games silver medals and a Summer Universiade gold medal. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she accused her team officials of forcing her to participate in an event and later took refuge in Poland to avoid action against her.

The daughter of a basketball player mother and a hockey and tennis player father, Aliaksandra Sasnovich began playing tennis at age 9. She reached the 2019 US Open semi-finals and has had a career-best singles ranking of 30. She was banned from Wimbledon in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Belarusian tennis player Ilya Ivashka has had a career-high singles ranking of 40 and is currently the number 1 singles player in his country. He was part of the group of Belarusian and Russian players who were banned by Wimbledon in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nicknamed The Red Scorpion, Belarusian heavyweight kickboxer and retired mixed martial artist Alexey Ignashov has won the Muay Thai World Championship 4 times. He trained at the Chinuk Gym for over a decade and is now based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is known for his signature knee strikes.

Ivan Baranchyk is a Belarusian boxer best known for his IBF light-welterweight title reign from 2018 to 2019. He won the vacant title by defeating Sweden's Anthony Yigit via corner retirement. Nicknamed The Beast, Ivan Baranchyk was ranked the fourth-best active light-welterweight in the world by BoxRec and The Ring in 2020.

Belarusian former tennis-player Natallia Zvierava, counted among the best doubles-players of all-time, won 18 Grand Slam doubles-titles, including six at French Open; five at Wimbledon, four at US Open and three at Australian Open. She attained World No.1 doubles ranking in October 1991. Zvierava also won two mixed-doubles title at Australian Open and bronze in doubles at the 1992 Olympics.

Belarusian former tennis player Max Mirnyi, a doubles specialist, won ten grand slam titles including two US Open titles and four French Open titles in doubles; and three US Open titles and one Wimbledon title in mixed-doubles. He attained World No.1 doubles ranking in June 2003. His achievements also include winning gold in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Belarusian biathlete Darya Domracheva scripted history as the first female biathlete to win 3 titles at the same Olympic, winning 3 gold medals. She has won 3 more Olympic medals and 6 World Championship medals. While she initially represented Russia, she later switched to Belarus.

Vladimir Matyushenko is a Belarusian former mixed martial artist. A former IFL light heavyweight champion, Matyushenko also competed for other popular promotions like Bellator MMA, Jungle Fight, Affliction, and UFC. Vladimir Matyushenko also represented Belarus at the 1994 European Championships where he won the silver medal in the 90 kg category. 

Siarhei Liakhovich is a Belarusian boxer best known for his WBO heavyweight title reign in 2006. He is also known for representing his country at the 1997 World Championships where he won the bronze medal in the super heavyweight category.

Leonid Taranenko is a former weightlifter and coach. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 110 kg category at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow where he represented the Soviet Union. He also won gold medals at the World Weightlifting Championships, European Weightlifting Championships, and USSR Weightlifting Championships.

Belarusian kick-boxer Chingiz Allazov has so-far achieved a kickboxing record of 59 wins out of 65, of which 36 wins were secured through knockout. He became the 2017 K-1 World GP -70kg World Tournament Champion and successfully defended the title in 2018. Presently signed with ONE Championship, Allazov is ranked as the #3 lightweight in the world by Combat Press.

Sergey Rabchenko is a Belarusian boxer who competes in the light middleweight division. After making his professional debut in 2006, Rabchenko went on to secure victories over well-known fighters like Bradley Pryce, Cédric Vitu, and Ryan Rhodes. Over the years, Sergey Rabchenko has won important titles like WBC Silver Light Middleweight title and EBU Light Middleweight title.

Vladimir Samsonov is a Belarusian retired table tennis player. Renowned for his superb all-around style, Samsonov took part in six successive Olympic Games between 1996 and 2016. Samsonov is also known for winning the Table Tennis World Cup thrice and the European Championship on six occasions. He also won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the World Championships.

Nicknamed Mad Bee, Belarusian boxer Kiryl Relikh has previously been a WBA super lightweight title holder. In 2017, he lost to Cuban boxer Rances Barthelemy after a controversial unanimous decision in an extremely close fight. In 2020, he became the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board’s global fifth-best active super lightweight boxer.

Belarusian professional tennis player Egor Alekseyevich Gerasimov made his ATP main draw debut in 2014 and won his first Grand Slam match at the 2019 US Open. On February 24, 2020, he attained his career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 65 and on March 2, 2015, he attained his career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 263.

American-Belarusian former basketball player Maalik Wayns played for Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia during his high-school days. He selected Villanova University to play under coach Jay Wright during college-years. As a professional, Wayns played with several teams, including Philadelphia 76ers and presently serves as coach at St. Joseph's Preparatory School.

Belarusian Muay Thai kickboxer Andrey Gerasimchuk competes in heavyweight-division. His achievements this far include winning Kunlun Fight 95 kg Tournament (2014) and Kunlun Fight 100 kg Tournament (2014, 2016). Combat Press ranked him as a top-ten heavyweight from October 2015 to July 2018. Gerasimchuk made his comeback in the sport after almost three years at Glory 73: Shenzhen in 2019.

Belarusian weightlifter Andrei Aramnau is not just an Olympic champion but also has a World Championship gold in his kitty. Born with 6 fingers on one hand, which he believed was due to the Chernobyl disaster, he had to cut his 6th finger at age 14 to compete professionally.

Belarusian professional basketball-player Artsiom Parakhouski became Big South Player of the Year twice and NCAA rebounding leader once during his college-career. He commenced his professional career in 2010 and achieved several feats playing for different teams. These include winning King Mindaugas Cup Finals (2019) with Rytas Vilnius and becoming King Mindaugas Cup MVP; and winning ABA League Supercup (2019) with Partizan.  

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.

Retired Belarusian cyclist Vasil Kiryienka has represented many reputed teams such as Rietumu Banka–Riga, Team Sky, and Movistar Team. He now manages the Belarusian team BelAZ as its directeur sportif. His retirement from competitive cycling was due to a medical advice following a cardiac issue.

Belarusian tennis player Olga Govortsova has had a career-high ranking of 35 in singles and 24 in doubles. She has played for the Springfield Lasers and the Sacramento Capitals in the mixed-gender tennis league World TeamTennis. She has also competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Vladimir Veremeenko is a Belarusian basketball player. In 2005, he was part of the Dynamo Saint Petersburg team that won the FIBA Europe League championship title. In 2011, he helped BC UNICS win its first EuroCup title. Vladimir Veremeenko has also won three Russian Basketball Cups so far in his career.

Melitina Staniouta is a Belarusian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented Belarus in World Championships and European Championships where she won many silver and bronze medals. Melitina Staniouta is perhaps best known for winning two gold medals at the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia.

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.

Vera Lapko is a Belarusian tennis player who has won several singles and doubles titles on the ITF Circuit so far. She also competes in Grand Slam events and has represented her country in important tournaments like the Billie Jean King Cup.

Ekaterina Vandaryeva is a Belarusian kickboxer best known for winning the WKN Championship title in 2011 after defeating Joanna Jędrzejczyk. She also won the IFMA European Championship title in 2009 and 2012. Ekaterina Vandaryeva has also competed in other popular promotions like ONE Championship.    

Retired Belarusian rhythmic gymnast Katsiaryna Halkina has won numerous medals, including 4 silver medals at both the World and European Championships. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she had scored 6th in the individual all-around final. Post-retirement, she moved to Moscow, where she joined a master’s degree.

Aleksandr Kurlovich was a Soviet weightlifter best remembered for winning a gold medal at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. He also won gold medals at World Weightlifting Championships, European Weightlifting Championships, and USSR Weightlifting Championships. Aleksandr Kurlovich, who set 12 world records during his career, was inducted into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 2006.

Russian-Belarusian figure skater Viktoriia Safonova competed for Russia before switching to Belarus in 2019. She participated in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She has also been an Ice Star champion and a Belarusian national champion twice. In 2021-22, she had a world ranking of 21.

Alex Bentley is a basketball player who has played for popular WNBA teams like Atlanta Dream and Connecticut Sun. Although she was born in the USA, Alex Bentley represents the Belarus women's national basketball team at the international level. In 2013, she was honored with the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award.

Aliaksandra Herasimenia is a Belarusian retired swimmer best known for winning two silver medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. At the 2016 Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the 50 metre freestyle event. Aliaksandra Herasimenia has also won gold medals at World Championships and European Championships.

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.

Leila Rajabi is a shot putter who represented Belarus from 2001 to 2007. Since 2007, she has been representing Iran. Rajabi is best known for winning the silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Leila Rajabi is the current Iranian national record holder in shot put.

Yulia Nestsiarenka is a Belarusian athlete who specialized in the 100 metres event. She is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Indoor Championships, 2005 World Championships, and 2006 European Championships. Currently, Nestsiarenka is one of the members of the Belarus Olympic Committee.

Belarusian chess player Sergei Zhigalko received the FIDE title of Grandmaster in 2007. His achievements as a player so far include winning Under 14 division at World Youth Chess Championships and European Youth Chess Championships in 2003; Under 18 division at European Youth Championships in 2006; the Belarusian Chess Championship thrice (2009, 2012, 2013) and Baku Open twice (2011, 2012).

Though born in the US, gymnast Kylie Dickson competed for Belarus, in spite of having no Belarusian ancestry. The 2016 Olympian for Belarus still lived and trained in the US and attended the same gym as American Olympian McKayla Maroney. A US elite, she had been part of the U.S. Classic, too.

Yelena Leuchanka is a Belarusian basketball player who plays as a center for the popular Greek club Panathinaikos. She has also played for other prestigious clubs like Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics. Yelena Leuchanka has also represented the national team in important tournaments like the 2007 EuroBasket in Italy where she won the bronze medal.

Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova is a Belarusian athlete who specializes in long jump. She is best known for winning a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. She also won a silver medal at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Belarusian rhythmic gymnast Alina Harnasko started training in the sport at age 3. She has not only won a World Championship gold medal but also has an Olympic bronze medal in her kitty. She is also a 3-time Grand Prix Final gold medal winner. She also enjoys creating content for her YouTube channel.

Belarusian athlete Elvira Herman has not just won a European Championship gold but has also bagged a team silver at the 2019 European Games. She is a master of sprint hurdles and represents the club SK FPB. She specializes in the 100m and 60m hurdles.