Oleg Goncharenko

Who was Oleg Goncharenko?

Oleg Georgievich Goncharenko, 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. In 1958, he actually managed to win the "triple", becoming World, European, and Soviet Allround Champion. 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 at abroad, Goncharenko was unusually popular for many years, even long after he had retired from speed skating. 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.