Hennadiy Bleznitsov

Hennadiy Bleznitsov (Ukrainian: Геннадій Блезніцов; born on 6 January 1941 in Kharkiv) is a retired Ukrainian pole vaulter who represented the USSR. He trained at Burevestnik and later at the Armed Forces sports society in Kharkov. He represented his country twice at the Olympic Games, reaching the finals in both 1964 and 1968.^[1]

Bleznitsov won two medals at the Universiade, winning the 1963 title in a championship record of 4.60 m before taking a silver in 1965 behind American John Pennel.^[2] He was the inaugural pole vault champion at the annual 1966 European Indoor Games and won three silver medals in the subsequent years, beaten by fellow Soviet Igor Feld and East Germany's Wolfgang Nordwig.^[3] He was twice a medallist at the European Cup and competed at the 1966 European Athletics Championships, though he failed to register a height.^[4]

He won a total of ten Soviet national titles in the pole vault, including four straight wins outdoors from 1963 to 1966.^[5][6] He achieved his career best of 5.30 m (17 ft 4+1⁄2 in) at the 1968 Olympic final in Mexico City. One of the best vaulters of his generation, he ranked in the global top ten for five straight years, from 1965 to 1969.^[7]