Former USSR national basketball player Anatoly Polivoda passed away at the age of 76. This was reported by the official website of the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.
The athlete died on January 21. The reasons are not stated.
Polivoda became the champion of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. He suffered a heart attack before his final against Team USA. Polivoda watched the main match of the basketball tournament from the stands. A few years later, doctors would determine that Polivoda suffered from congenital Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which challenges not only sports but also normal life activities. His problems were partially resolved with the surgery he had in 1985.
In addition to gold at the Munich Games, Polivoda won bronze at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City with the USSR national team. He is also a three-time European champion (1967, 1969, 1971), world champion (1967) and USSR champion (1967).
Currently, the only survivors from the 1972 USSR Olympic basketball team are Ivan Edeshko and Modestas Paulauskas.
Formerly a Russian basketball star disqualified for drugs.