Sergey Kovalenko

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameSergey Ivanovich•Kovalenko
Used nameSergey•Kovalenko
Original nameСергей Иванович•Коваленко
Born11 August 1947 in Lüshunkou, Dalian, Liaoning (CHN)
Died18 November 2004 in Kyiv, Kyiv (UKR)
Measurements216 cm / 111 kg
AffiliationsBurevestnik Tbilisi, Tbilisi (GEO) / BC Budivelnyk, Kyiv (UKR)
NOC Soviet Union
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 1
Total 2

Biography

At two Olympic tournaments Sergey Kovalenko played in 15 games and scored 60 points. With the USSR team, he won a bronze medal at the 1970 World Championships in Yugoslavia, and also won gold and bronze medals at the 1969 European Championships in Italy and 1973 in Spain, respectively. From 1969-75 Kovalenko played for Stroitel, Kyiv, twice winning a bronze medal at the USSR Championships with them. In 1975, a conflict arose with the club’s management and he was removed from the team and the league, but with the help of coach Aleksandr Gomelsky Kovalenko returned to basketball and moved to the CSKA club, playing with them until 1980, and winning five Soviet titles.

At the end of his 15-year playing career, Sergey Kovalenko returned to Kyiv. In the early 90s he was an assistant coach for one of the strongest basketball clubs in the USSR – SKA Kyiv. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the change in the economic situation, Kovalenko worked for a construction company, where he climbed the entire company ladder – from security guard to deputy director. He then organized his own business selling wholesale building materials.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1968 Summer Olympics Basketball (Basketball) URS Sergey Kovalenko
Basketball, Men (Olympic) Soviet Union 3 Bronze
1972 Summer Olympics Basketball (Basketball) URS Sergey Kovalenko
Basketball, Men (Olympic) Soviet Union 1 Gold

Special Notes