Russian basketball player
Tatyana Nikolaevna Ovechkina (; maiden name: Kabayeva; born 19 March 1950) is a former Russian basketball player who played for the Soviet Union women's national basketball team that won two Olympic gold medals, the 1975 World Championships and six European Championships. Today, she runs the Russia women's national basketball program.
Early life.
Ovechkina was born in Moscow. At age 7, she was walking home from school when an automobile struck her and mangled her right leg. She spent a year in the hospital recovering.
Career.
At 16, Tatyana joined Dynamo Moscow's women's basketball team and soon became its star. At age 19, she was named team captain and played in the club for 13 more years.
Ovechkina won two Olympic gold medals with the USSR team, in 1976 and 1980, and never lost a game in an official international competition. She also won the 1975 World Championship, six European Championships (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980), and the 1977 Summer Universiade. She retired from the national team at age 30.
She was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1976 and the Order of Friendship of Peoples in 1980. In recent years, she was overwhelmingly chosen the 20th century's best female point guard by the readers of the "Sport-Express", a Russian daily newspaper. Currently, she is a candidate for induction into the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Personal life.
Ovechkina is the mother of professional ice hockey player Alexander Ovechkin, who plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals. He wears #8 in honor of Tatyana, who wore #8 during her basketball career.
References.
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