Oleg Goncharenko

Oleg Georgievich Goncharenko (Олег Георгиевич Гончаренко, Олег Георгійович Гончаренко) (18 August 1931 – 16 December 1986), Distinguished Master of Sports of the USSR, was the first male Soviet speed skater to become World Allround Champion.

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Oleg Goncharenko made his international debut in 1953 and promptly became World Allround Champion.

He would win two more World Allround Championships after that, as well as two European Allround Championships.

After winning his first World Championship in 1953 in Helsinki, he received dozens of telegrams in his hotel room there from all over the Soviet Union and from abroad.

One of those telegrams he kept until the end of his life because it was particularly dear to him.

It was a short message from the legendary Norwegian speed skater Oscar Mathisen, reading "Congratulations. Oscar Mathisen."

– written just one year before Mathisen's death.

Goncharenko's achievements also prompted two cities, Denver and Oslo, to name him an honorary citizen.

He also was awarded the Order of Lenin.

At the 1956 Winter Olympics of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Goncharenko won bronze on the 5,000 m and on the 10,000 m. He also participated in the 5,000 m at the 1960 Winter Olympics of Squaw Valley, but finished only sixth.

Both at home and abroad, Goncharenko was unusually popular for many years, even long after he had retired from speed skating.

In 1958, he won the "triple", becoming World, European, and Soviet Allround Champion.

Goncharenko retired from speed skating in 1962.

He died in 1986, at the age of 55, after a painful illness.

An overview of medals won by Goncharenko at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Goncharenko skated his personal records.

Goncharenko has an Adelskalender score of 183.636 points.

His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a third place.