Yevhen Arzhanov


Yevhen Oleksandrovych Arzhanov is a Ukrainian former middle-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Arzhanov was a keen basketball and football player, and took up athletics only in 1965, yet by 1968 he was selected for the Soviet national team. At the 1968 Olympics, he reached the semifinals, and next year finished fourth at the 1969 European Championships. He won gold medals at the 1970 European Indoor Championships with a time of 1:51.0, 1971 European Indoor Championships, 1971 European Championships and 1973 Summer Universiade.
At the 1972 Olympics Arzhanov led the final, but was narrowly overtaken in the last meters by Dave Wottle, who finished in the same time.
After retiring from competitions, Arzhanov worked as athletics commentator with Ukrainian national television and radio stations. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he coached the national teams of South Korea and Vietnam.