Anatolij Kovtun

Anatolij Kovtun

Personal information
Born	(1960-12-31)31 December 1960 Soviet Union
Died	22 February 2005(2005-02-22) (aged 44)
Nationality	Soviet / Ukrainian
Listed height	206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight	100 kg (220 lb)
Position	Center
Career history
19??–198?	Celje
198?–198?	CSKA Moscow
1986–1987	Statyba
1986–1987	Dnipropetrovsk
1987–1989	Budivelnyk Kyiv
1989–1990	KR
Career highlights and awards
As player: 2× Soviet champion (1982, 1989) Icelandic champion (1990)

Anatolij Kovtun (31 December 1960 – 22 February 2005) was a Ukrainian basketball player and a member of the Soviet Union national basketball team. He won the Soviet championship twice, with CSKA Moscow and BC Budivelnyk Kyiv, and the Icelandic championship once with KR.[1]

Early life

Kovtun grew up in Simferopol where he started playing basketball.[2]

Playing career

Kovtun joined Úrvalsdeild karla club KR in 1989, under head coach László Németh, becoming the first Soviet player to play for an Icelandic team.[3][1] With KR, Kovtun teamed up with American Jónatan James Bow, who was on a loan from Haukar,[4] in the FIBA Korać Cup which was, according to FIBA, the first time an American and a Soviet player played together in the Cup.[5] In the Úrvalsdeild, Kovtun averaged 16.9 points and 11.0 rebounds and helped KR to its first national championship in 11 years.[1] During the summer of 1990, Kovtun was seriously injured in a car crash that killed his friend. After the accident, he was in a coma for six days and permanently lost the sight on one eye, effectively ending his professional career.[6][2]

Later life and death

Following his professional career, Kovtun ran a basketball school in Lviv in Ukraine and worked as a sports agent for basketball players.[6] He died on 22 February 2005 at the age of 44.[7]

Personal life

Kovtun was married to Natalia Kovtun and together they had two daughters. His older daughter, Mariia Kovtun, played college basketball for Lamar University[8] and Texas Woman's University,[9] and professionally in Europe.[10]

References

1. "Gamla ljósmyndin: Sovétmaðurinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
2. Ivan Verbytsky (31 December 2018). "Чемпион, роковое ДТП и ранняя смерть: жизненные повороты известного украинского баскетболиста". ua-football.com (in Russian). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
3. Ágúst Borgþór Sverrisson (1 October 1989). "Útlendingarnir". Íþróttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 58. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
4. "Bow með KR í Evrópukeppninni". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 5 September 1989. p. B1. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
5. "Stórveldin í eina sæng!". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 26 September 1989. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
6. "Íþróttir - Fólk". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 February 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
7. "Anatolij Kovtoun látinn". Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur (in Icelandic). 23 February 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
8. "Mary Kovtun - 2011-12 - Women's Basketball". lamarcardinals.com. Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
9. "Mary Kovtun - Basketball". twuathletics.com. Texas Woman's Pioneers. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
10. "Mariia Kovtun Player Profile - Eurobasket". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

External links

• Úrvalsdeild statistics at Icelandic Basketball Association