Uljana Semjonova: Latvia Mourns Basketball Icon

Farewell will be held on Thursday

On Thursday, January 15, there will be a farewell to the legendary Latvian and world basketball player Uljana Semjonova, who passed away last week. She passed away on January 8 at the age of 73. The Latvian Basketball Association (LBS) has confirmed the date of the farewell.

Public honoring in the Riga Latvian Society House

The public farewell to Ulyana Semyonova is scheduled from 12:00 to 13:30 in the Great Hall of the Latvian Society of Riga. This is an opportunity for fans, colleagues and everyone who respected and loved the great athlete to remember him and express their condolences.

After the ceremony in the Riga Latvian Society House, at 14:00, Uljana Semjonova will be laid to rest in the 1st Forest Cemetery of Riga. Those who would like to express their respect with flowers are asked to bring them to the building of the Latvian Society of Riga, from where they will be taken to the graves.

Career and achievements of the basketball icon

Ulyana Semyonova (born March 9, 1952) is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Her impressive height, officially 210 cm, combined with her excellent fitness, technique and understanding of the game ensured her dominance on the pitch.

Semyonova is a two-time Olympic champion (1976, 1980), three-time world champion (1971, 1975, 1983) and ten-time European champion (1968-1985). She is also an eleven-time winner of the European Champions Cup with the Riga TTT team, with whom she became the champion of the USSR fifteen times.

Semyonova’s achievements have been widely appreciated not only in Latvia, but also internationally. She has been inducted into the World Basketball Hall of Fame (1993), the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (1999) and the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame (2007). In 1993, she became the first European basketball player to be inducted into the World Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

International recognition and life after sports

After the end of her outstanding sports career, Uļjana Semjonova continued to be active, managing the Latvian Olympic Social Fund, providing assistance to sports veterans and showing her care and support to former athletes.

The departure of a Latvian and world basketball legend is a great loss for the Latvian sports community. Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and State President Edgars Rinkēvičs have expressed their condolences to Semjonova’s relatives, friends and the entire Latvian sports family, emphasizing her significant contribution to sports and the fact that she inspired several generations.