# Veniamin Soldatenko > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Veniamin_Soldatenko > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Veniamin_Soldatenko.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veniamin_Soldatenko > Source revision: 1338555186 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Soviet racewalker (1939–2023) Veniamin Soldatenko Soldatenko in 1972 Personal information Born 4 January 1939 (1939-01-04) Shkurovka, Beinetkorsky District, North Kazakhstan Region, Kazakh SSR, USSR[1] Died 15 July 2023(2023-07-15) (aged 84) Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Weight 63 kg (139 lb) Sport Sport Athletics Event 50 km walk Club SKA Almaty **Veniamin Vasilievich Soldatenko** ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Вениамин Васильевич Солдатенко, 4 January 1939 – 15 July 2023) was a [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) athlete who competed mainly in the [50 km walk](/source/50_km_walk). He acquired [Kazakhstani](/source/Kazakhstan) citizenship after the dissolution of the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union). Soldatenko took up athletics in 1962 and became a member of the [USSR](/source/Soviet_Union) National Team in 1967.[1] He competed at the [1972 Summer Olympics](/source/1972_Summer_Olympics) and won the silver medal. He also won a silver medal at the [1970 World Race Walking Cup](/source/IAAF_World_Race_Walking_Cup), a gold medal at the [1976 World Championships](/source/1976_World_Championships_in_Athletics) and bronze, gold and silver medals at the European Championships in [1969](/source/1969_European_Championships_in_Athletics), [1971](/source/1971_European_Championships_in_Athletics) and [1978](/source/1978_European_Championships_in_Athletics), respectively. Soldatenko was awarded the [Order of the Badge of Honor](/source/Order_of_the_Badge_of_Honor) in 1972.[1] Soldatenko was the first ever IAAF world champion and remains the oldest male world champion in athletics, having taken his 50 km walk title at 37 years and 258 days.[2] In retirement he coached race walkers in his native Kazakhstan.[3] Soldatenko died on 15 July 2023, at the age of 84.[4] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Panorama_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Panorama_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Panorama_1-2) *Panorama of the 1972 Sports Year* (in Russian). Moscow: [Fizkultura i sport](/source/Fizkultura_i_sport_(publisher)). 1973. p. 109. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013](http://iaaf-ebooks.s3.amazonaws.com/Moscow-2013-Statistics/sources/projet/IAAF-Moscow.pdf) (p. 20). IAAF/[AFTS](/source/Association_of_Track_and_Field_Statisticians) (2013). Edited by Mark Butler. Retrieved on 9 September 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-sr_3-0)** [Veniamin Soldatenko](https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173445/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/so/veniamin-soldatenko-1.html). sports-reference.com 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [На 84-ом году жизни, скончался легендарный казахстанский спортсмен — первый легкоатлет, получивший медаль на Олимпийских Играх и рекордсмен мира Солдатенко Вениамин Васильевич](https://qazathletics.kz/ru/news/na-84-om-godu-zhizni-skonchalsya-legendarnyj-kazahstanskij-sportsmen-pervyj-legkoatlet-poluchivshij-medal-na-olimpijskih-igrah-i-rekordsmen-mira-soldatenko-veniamin-vasilevich) (in Russian) v t e World champions in men's 35 km and 50 km race walk 50 km 1976: Veniamin Soldatenko (URS) 1983: Ronald Weigel (GDR) 1987: Hartwig Gauder (GDR) 1991: Aleksandr Potashov (URS) 1993: Jesús Ángel García (ESP) 1995: Valentin Kononen (FIN) 1997: Robert Korzeniowski (POL) 1999: Ivano Brugnetti (ITA) 2001: Robert Korzeniowski (POL) 2003: Robert Korzeniowski (POL) 2005: Sergey Kirdyapkin (RUS) 2007: Nathan Deakes (AUS) 2009: Trond Nymark (NOR) 2011: Denis Nizhegorodov (RUS) 2013: Robert Heffernan (IRL) 2015: Matej Tóth (SVK) 2017: Yohann Diniz (FRA) 2019: Yusuke Suzuki (JPN) 35 km 2022: Massimo Stano (ITA) 2023: Álvaro Martín (ESP) 2025: Evan Dunfee (CAN) v t e European Athletics Championships champions in men's 50 km walk and 35 km walk 1934–2018 50 kilometres 1934: Jānis Daliņš (LAT) 1938: Harold Whitlock (GBR) 1946: John Ljunggren (SWE) 1950: Pino Dordoni (ITA) 1954: Vladimir Ukhov (URS) 1958: Yevgeny Maskinskov (URS) 1962: Abdon Pamich (ITA) 1966: Abdon Pamich (ITA) 1969: Christoph Höhne (GDR) 1971: Veniamin Soldatenko (URS) 1974: Christoph Höhne (GDR) 1978: Jorge Llopart (ESP) 1982: Reima Salonen (FIN) 1986: Hartwig Gauder (GDR) 1990: Andrey Perlov (URS) 1994: Valeriy Spitsyn (RUS) 1998: Robert Korzeniowski (POL) 2002: Robert Korzeniowski (POL) 2006: Yohann Diniz (FRA) 2010: Yohann Diniz (FRA) 2014: Yohann Diniz (FRA) 2018: Maryan Zakalnytskyy (UKR) 2022–present 35 kilometres 2022: Miguel Ángel López (ESP) Authority control databases: People World Athletics This biographical article relating to Kazakhstani athletics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Kazakhstan-athletics-bio-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AKazakhstan-athletics-bio-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Kazakhstan-athletics-bio-stub) This article about an Olympic medalist in athletics of the Soviet Union is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:USSR-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AUSSR-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:USSR-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Veniamin Soldatenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veniamin_Soldatenko) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veniamin_Soldatenko?action=history)). 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