Grigory Afanasevich Taran (born June 16, 1937 , Nikopol ) is a Soviet athlete. Silver medalist of the USSR long distance running championship. Multiple champion of the Ukrainian SSR. Ex-world record holder in the 3000m hurdle race (1961). USSR master of sports of international class .
 Grigory Taran | ||
|---|---|---|
| general information | ||
| Full name | Grigory Afanasevich Taran | |
| Date and place of birth | ||
| Citizenship |  USSR /  Ukraine | |
| Trainer | V. D. Bredikhin | |
| Personal records | ||
| 3000 m s / p | 8: 31.2 (1961)WR * | |
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Biography
| External Images | |
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| http://nikopolpage.ucoz.ua/_pu/1/08069843.jpg | |
Grigory Afanasevich Taran was born in the city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region. His father was a blacksmith [1] . Gregory graduated from high school in his hometown. There is still a memorial plaque with his portrait and information. He trained under the guidance of Vladimir Dmitrievich Bredikhin [2] . After graduating from school, Taran went to Kiev to enter the Kiev Institute of Physical Culture , advocated for the sports society Dynamo.
At the institute, his coach was Kozlov. All winter they were preparing for the competition. And, unexpectedly for everyone, on May 28, 1961, a young unknown athlete set a world record - 8 minutes and 31.2 seconds, ahead of Pole Zdzislaw KrzyszkΓ³wyak and Soviet athlete Nikolai Sokolov [3] [4] .
Taran also intended to attend the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, but damaged the Achilles tendon and left the sport, devoting himself to coaching.
In Kiev, he met his love with which he had lived for 57 years, raising a daughter and two grandchildren, while his daughter herself showed a lot of hopes in athletics, but decided to go into medicine and became a pediatrician.
Taran now lives with his family in Rzhishchev, Ukraine.