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Vale Viktor Saneyev

 

Vale Viktor Saneyev

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AOC
Viktor Saneyev

The AOC has paid tribute to the late Viktor Saneyev, a three-time Olympic triple jump gold medallist from Georgia who passed on his wisdom to aspiring athletes in Australia.

Viktor Saneyev became an Olympic triple jump champion in 1968 while representing the Soviet Union at his first Games in Mexico City. It was a title he successfully defended at Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 before finishing his Olympic career with a silver medal at Moscow 1980.

Later in life he moved to Sydney and had an active role for a decade from the late 1990s as a horizontal jumps coach for the NSW Institute of Sport.

Described as “the best Georgian athlete of the 20th century,” Saneyev also spent time coaching for Athletics NSW, at schools and emerging jumps camps.

AOC President John Coates has a warm appreciation for Viktor Saneyev’s legacy.

“I am very proud that a champion such as Viktor chose to make Australia his home,” Coates said.

“He took great delight in his role as the Attaché to the Georgian Team at the Sydney 2000 Games. He and his wife were regulars at NSW Olympic Club functions. We will miss him very much.”

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