Alzhan Zharmukhamedov

Often considered the first ethnic Kazakh to win an Olympic gold medal, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov was a basketball player who played for the Soviets during their controversial victory at the 1972 München Olympics. His career lasted from 1970-80, all spent with CSKA Moskva. His team won the USSR League title every year in that decade except 1975. Zharmukhamedov was a EuroLeague Champion in 1971 and won the USSR Cup in 1972 and 1973. At the World Cup (then the World Championships) he won a silver medal in 1978 and a bronze medal in 1970.

Zharmukhamedov was Soviet team captain near the end of his career and later became a coach, although he retired quite young, at age 45. He was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour of the Soviet Union in 1972 and the Russian Order of Honour in 2006.