Gennady Avdeyenko

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameGennady Valentinovich•Avdeyenko
Used nameGennady•Avdeyenko
Original nameГеннадий Валентинович•Авдеенко
Other namesHennadiy Valentynovych Avdyeyenko, Геннадій Валентинович Авдєєнко
Born4 November 1963 in Odesa, Odesa (UKR)
Measurements202 cm / 82 kg
AffiliationsSKA Odessa, Odesa (UKR)
NOC Soviet Union
Nationality Ukraine
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Ukrainian Gennady Avdeyenko took up athletics in 1972. Initially a triple jumper, Avdeyenko switched to high jump in 1980 and was selected for the Soviet national team in 1981. Avdeyenko first competed internationally at the 1983 European Indoor Championships, where he finished fifth. Avdeyenko entered the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Helsinki as a relative unknown and surprised everyone by bettering his previous personal best by 7 cm and winning the gold medal. Over the next couple of seasons, Avdeyenko fell back to the obscurity he had before the 1983 World Championships, but made a strong comeback in 1987, winning a bronze at the European Indoor Championships, followed by silver at the World Indoor Championships. At the 1987 World Outdoor Championships, Avdeyenko cleared his personal best of 2.38 to win a silver medal and went to the 1988 Olympics as one of the gold medal favorites. At the Olympics, he did not disappoint, clearing another 2.38 and winning gold. After the Olympics, his results dropped off a bit and he retired from athletics after the fall of the Soviet Union. Avdeyenko won the Soviet high jump title in 1987-88. A graduate at the Odesa Polytechnic Institute, he later worked as a refrigerating equipment engineer in Ukraine and Belarus.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.38 (1987).

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal Nationality As
1988 Summer Olympics Athletics URS UKR Gennady Avdeyenko
High Jump, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold

Olympic family relations

Special Notes