By Mike Rowbottom

Hall of_Fame_Vladimir_Golubnichy_Sept_16September 18 - Vladimir Golubnichy, Ukraine's two-time Olympic race walk champion and multiple world record breaker is the latest athlete to be named as one of the 24 inaugural members of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Hall of Fame which has been created to mark the year of the IAAF centenary.


Golubnichiy (pictured above) is one of only a handful of athletes who have competed at five or more Olympic Games.

The Ukrainian, who concentrated on the 20 kilometres race walk internationally, has had a long and illustrious career at the highest level.

He set his first 20km world record in 1955 at the age of just 19, but will be best remembered for his two Olympic titles at Rome in 1960 and Mexico City in 1968 and the world record he set in 1958, which remained on the books for almost 11 years.

"The incredible career of Golubnichiy made his inclusion in the IAAF Hall of Fame unquestionable," commented IAAF President Lamine Diack.

"Not only was he a repeat Olympic champion and World record breaker, the span of his international career was truly awe-inspiring.

"With a silver and bronze giving him a total of four Olympic podium places, Golubnichiy, who set his first world mark in 1955, was still good enough for seventh place at the 1976 Olympics!"

The official induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame will take place at the IAAF Centenary Gala in Barcelona on Saturday, November 24.

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