Vasyl Yurchenko (alternate spellings: Vasily Yurchenko, Vasiliy Jurtzhenko, born May 26, 1950) is a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

-born Ukrainian

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 sprint canoer

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who competed from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won two medals. This included one silver (C-1 1000 m: 1976

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

) and one bronze (C-2 1000 m: 1980

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

).

Yurchenko had better success at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, winning 12 medals. This included seven golds (C-1 1000 m: 1974

1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mexico City, Mexico in neighboring Xochimilco. This marked the first time the championships took place out side of Europe. , all championships have taken place either in Europe or North America...

, 1975

1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for the second time, having hosted them in 1971. This also equaled the most times a city had done so with Copenhagen, Denmark ....

; C-1 10000 m: 1973, 1975; C-2 1000 m: 1977

1977 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1977 Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria.The men's competition consisted of six Canadian and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak...

, 1979

1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1979 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, West Germany.The men's competition consisted of six Canadian and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak....

; C-2 10000 m: 1979), four silvers (C-1 10000 m: 1971, 1974, 1977, 1978

1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for a record third time. The Yugoslavian city had previously hosted the championships in 1971 and 1975....

), and one bronze (C-2 500 m: 1977).

His daughter Kateryna

Kateryna Yurchenko

Kateryna Yurchenko is a Ukrainian sprint canoer who competed in the mid 1990s. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, she was eliminated in the semifinals of both the K-2 500 m and the K-4 500 m event....

 competed for Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 in canoeing

Canoeing at the 1996 Summer Olympics

The canoeing competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was composed of 16 events in two disciplines, slalom and sprint...

 at the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 in Atlanta.