Anatoly Polivoda

Ukrainian basketball player Anatoly Polivoda won multiple international tournaments with the Soviet Union national team in the 1960s and 1970s. Polivoda was part of the team that won the 1967 World Cup in Uruguay, where he was also named as the player of the tournament. The same year the Soviet team won the European Championships, going on to defend the title in 1969 and 1971. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics he won bronze when the Soviet team finished third with a comprehensive victory against Brazil. Four years later at the 1972 München Olympics the Soviet team beat the United States to win the gold medal, in a game that became infamous for causing the greatest controversy in Olympic basketball history. Polivoda did not play in the final himself, with his last match being in the semi-final encounter against Cuba.