Oleg Kiryukhin: Ukraine’s Olympic Boxing Bronze Medalist
Ukraine’s Oleg Kiryukhin won the light-flyweight bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He advanced to the semifinal, where he lost to eventual champion Daniel Petrov; the Olympic results list Kiryukhin among the two bronze medalists.
Three victories on the way to the podium
Kiryukhin began his Atlanta campaign with a 17–3 points win over Pakistan’s Abdul Rashid Qambrani. He followed that with an 18–6 victory against Colombia’s Beibis Mendoza, advancing to the quarterfinals. His next opponent was American Albert Guardado, whom he defeated 19–14 to secure a medal.
The semifinal brought a meeting with Bulgaria’s Daniel Petrov, who won 17–8. Petrov subsequently took the gold medal, while the Philippines’ Mansueto Velasco finished second. Kiryukhin shared the bronze positions with Spain’s Rafael Lozano. Both semifinalists received medals; there was no separate contest between them for third place.
Part of Ukraine’s Atlanta boxing team
The tournament was staged at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, with the light-flyweight competition contested at a limit of 48 kilograms. Ukraine won two boxing medals at the Games: Kiryukhin’s bronze in the lightest division and Volodymyr Klitschko’s gold at super heavyweight.
BoxRec identifies Kiryukhin’s hometown and birthplace as Mariupol. His Olympic run remains a concise record of three successive points victories followed by a defeat to the eventual champion, marking his place among Ukraine’s medal-winning boxers.
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
