Legendary world basketball player Ouliana Semenova has passed away

At 2.17 m tall, Ouliana Semenova dominated women’s basketball for nearly twenty years. A true icon of the USSR and then Latvia, the TTT Riga center marked several generations, both through her sporting impact and the human connections she forged, particularly in France. Her death, announced by the Latvian Federation, plunges the world of women’s basketball into deep sadness.

An extraordinary career with Riga and the USSR

Born on March 9, 1952 in Daugavpils, Latvia, Ouliana Semenova reigned supreme over the European paint between the late 1960s and late 1980s. Affected by acromegaly, she possessed a unique size and wingspan for the era, making her an almost unstoppable weapon near the basket.

With TTT Riga, she stacked up trophies: eleven European Champions Cups (the EuroLeague of that era), one Liliana Ronchetti Cup and fifteen USSR championship titles. On the national team, wearing the USSR and later Latvia jersey, her record is equally dizzying: two Olympic gold medals (Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980), three world championship titles and ten consecutive European crowns. An almost flawless domination, her national team remaining undefeated throughout her entire international career.

Clermont, lost finals… and a lasting friendship

In France, Ouliana Semenova left a lasting mark on Clermont memories. At the Maison des Sports, the Daugava Riga center repeatedly denied Clermont Université Club (CUC) a European title, during the European Champions Cup finals in 1971, 1973, 1974 and 1977.

Despite these cruel defeats, the Clermont ladies never harbored bitterness toward her. On the contrary, a deep friendship developed over the years between the French players and the Latvian giant, a relationship that would endure long after the end of her career.

[LA PHOTO DE LA SEMAINE] Uljiana Semijonova (Ouliana Semenova), 2,13 m, dans les rues de Clermont-Ferrand…. Elle finira par être applaudie par le public clermontois, respectueux de son talent. pic.twitter.com/akxm2t9GT2

— BASKET RETRO (@Basket_Retro) February 19, 2018

A late career in Western Europe and France

In 1987, Ouliana Semenova became the first Soviet player to play abroad, joining Tintoretto Madrid, which she led to the Spanish championship final. At 37, she then settled in France, in Orchies, with Union Sportive Orchies Nomain, future Valenciennes. Weakened by serious health problems, she was forced to end her professional career in 1989.

Más de 30 años después, la historia del baloncesto femenino español no se puede entender sin el capítulo que firmó una letona de 2’13: Colosal Semenova. #InformeRobinson pic.twitter.com/m73BCnXo6G

— Informe Plus+ por Movistar Plus+ (@InformePlus) September 20, 2019

Eternal recognition despite a difficult end of life

In 1993, Ouliana Semenova became the first European basketball player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in the United States, before entering the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. A late but immense recognition for someone who never played in the United States.

Having had a leg amputated in 2022, she had been supported financially by her former adversaries and friends from CUC, further proof of the human mark she had left on French basketball.

Ouliana Semenova would have turned 74 on March 9. BeBasket extends its sincere condolences to her family, loved ones and the entire Latvian and European basketball community.