Kharis Yunichev

Kharis Yunichev was the first Soviet swimmer to win an individual Olympic medal. Yunichev took up swimming in 1947 and soon rose to be one of the top Soviet breaststroke swimmers. The high point of Yunichev’s career was the only international tournament in which he participated, the 1956 Olympics, where he surprised everybody by winning a bronze medal in the 200 metre breaststroke. Domestically, Yurichev won two Soviet titles, in the 200 breaststroke in 1951 and the medley relay in 1953. He also won two silver medals (1951: 400 breaststroke; 1956: 200 breaststroke) and one bronze (1951: 100 breaststroke) at the Soviet championships. Since 2002 an annual tournament in his honor has been held in his hometown of Sochi.

Personal Best: 100 m breaststroke – 1:14.8 (1951); 200 m breaststroke – 2:33.0 (1956); 400 m breaststroke – 5:51.6 (1951).