The public farewell to Uljana Semenova will take place in the Great Hall of the Latvian Society in Riga from 12:00 to 13:30. Semenova will be buried at the Riga First Forest Cemetery after 14:00, reports the Latvian Basketball Union.
The legend of world basketball, Uljana Semenova, passed away at the age of 74 – a two-time Olympic champion, three-time world champion, and ten-time European champion. She was a unique figure in sports – not only in Latvia but also globally.
Behind the powerful lady of world sports (she stood 2 meters and 10 centimeters tall) were 24 years in sports, captaining the famous Latvian team "TTT" and the USSR national team at world competitions, including the Olympics. She was also the first not only from Latvia but from Europe to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield (USA) in the early 1990s. Additionally, she received the Lenin Order – the highest Soviet award of that time. This order, along with her collection of awards, Uljana donated to the sports museum in Old Riga.
“Come to Us!”
After leaving professional sports, Uljana worked for a long time at the Latvian Olympic Committee, and it was during that time, at the turn of the millennium, that I had the opportunity to speak with her. Before me stood a very kind woman, with a beautiful bow on her chest, made by herself, by the way.
"So many years in sports and world fame are behind me," she said. "I was recognized in all countries; I was never a stranger anywhere, it turns out. Of course, my height is noticeable, but everyone saw me during competitions on television.
Then everything changed; I left sports due to problems with my legs and age. I became the vice president of our Olympic committee. It was quite simple; the committee president met me and asked what I was doing now. I was doing nothing, living off old savings. 'Come to us!' was the invitation. And so I became the head of the committee's social fund."
This was just at the time when the USSR collapsed, there was an economic crisis everywhere, and Uljana was looking for money for veterans of Latvian sports, who were literally living in poverty. There was no talk of sponsorship in its modern understanding then – it was a blessing to negotiate with a state farm in Bulduri and a farm in Marupe that provided vegetables for free. There were times when Uljana personally packed potatoes and carrots and then drove to various addresses.
Semenova recalled how people would almost kneel before her, kissing her hands. Everyone wanted to share their grief. Fortunately, over time, the situation improved.
From Medumi
"I still have various work at home – someone calls with requests, someone is looking for a sponsor, someone needs to schedule a medical procedure, and someone just needs a call back to ask how they are feeling after the hospital, after surgery, and if I need to come by and bring something. And all this in what seems to be my free time.
Uljana in her childhood in the village of Medumi.
Indeed, in my free time, I can now allow myself something. For example, a glass of champagne. During my sports career, I avoided that. I could have a glass, but I knew that it would be twice as hard to bear the load afterward. Now I have a job that often invites me to various presentations – I can afford it. I maintain my weight, unlike some other athletes who let themselves go after sports. I try to keep myself in the same shape as when I played."
Uljana is resilient, as she comes from the very depths of Latvia, the Old Believer village of Medumi. Her mother, sister, and brother lived there for a long time. Although the future sports legend was actually born in Lithuania, in the city of Zarasai. It just turned out that when labor began, it was closer to the maternity hospital in Zarasai from her village than to Daugavpils. And the future champion learned all the nuances of rural life from childhood.
"Relatives still have a small garden there," Uljana recalled. "When my parents lived there, I would come and when I had five or six free days, I would rake hay and so on. Fresh air and familiar places. I later moved my mother to Riga; she needed care, she had all the conditions, but she still couldn’t get used to city life and wanted to return to the village until the end. I always sent her there in the summer when it was warm."
Another Happiness
Uljana managed to write memoirs titled "When I Was Happy." "People made me write it," she said. "As much as my memory still holds, I created the book, and the printing house printed it. After reading the title of the memoirs, everyone asks me if I am not happy now? Well, there was a different happiness there, you see? Sports happiness. It’s a sports book and sports happiness.
I dictated my memories into a little recorder, and Ineta Kresla, a journalist from Latvian radio, transcribed them. The idea simply came when I was lying in the hospital with my leg for a long time. My treating doctor, the former chief physician of the trauma institute, Blaus, said, 'What are you lying there doing nonsense? Here, take this paper and write your memoirs!' 'I won’t!' I was stubborn, but the doctor turned out to be more stubborn."
"I would gladly engage in sports for myself once a week. We have a team of veterans, women who used to play for TTT, and now they gather once or twice a week to train for health. But, unfortunately, I can’t give my legs that load anymore."
Japan Captured My Soul
She traveled the world, but she liked Japan the most. Firstly, because the short Japanese did not point at her like in other countries, although they recognized her, and secondly, in 1978 she rode on a train there for the first time at a speed of 260 kilometers per hour (and we still can’t finish Rail Baltic...).
"We traveled through many cities there and were amazed – some six hundred kilometers in just over two hours. And their nature is very interesting, how they grow rice. There are no flat areas there; every piece of land is used. I remember how we traveled through a tunnel under the water... A very interesting country. Of course, New York is beautiful in itself, and perhaps Venice, Rome, and Paris are wonderful... But somehow Japan captured my soul..."
Last Anniversary
The last years for Uljana turned out to be really very difficult. She was in a hospital bed in a nursing home, which she had to move to after problems with her legs. At the time of my conversation with the legend, she had already undergone nine surgeries. And how many more after that – it’s better not to count. There was an amputation.
The last time Uljana appeared in public was about four years ago when her seventieth birthday was celebrated. Uljana managed to rise with the help of devices from the bed, where she received gifts – a portrait from artist Janis Anmanis (who passed away last year), the minister, and the president of the Olympic committee.
...Unfortunately, Uljana will never see the feature film about herself. It is called "Ulja." The premiere is supposed to be very soon, with the main role played by theater actor Dailes Karlis Arnold Avots.
Last Farewell
The president of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, commented on the champion's passing: "Latvia has suffered another huge loss – we bid farewell to the legend of sports, Uljana Semenova. A golden woman of Olympic, world, and European basketball, a very warm and responsive person. My deepest condolences to Uljana's family, colleagues, and fans."
