Anatolij Kovtun
Personal information
Born(1960-12-31)31 December 1960
Soviet Union
Died22 February 2005(2005-02-22) (aged 44)
NationalitySoviet / Ukrainian
Listed height206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight100 kg (220 lb)
PositionCenter
Career history
19??–198?Celje
198?–198?CSKA Moscow
1986–1987Statyba
1986–1987Dnepropetrovsk
1987–1989Stroitel Kiev
1989–1990KR
Career highlights and awards
As player:

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 Stroitel Kiev, 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 an 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. 1 2 3 "Gamla ljósmyndin: Sovétmaðurinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. 1 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. 1 2 "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.
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