3,573 articles
Vadzim Makhneu
Vadzim Makhneu (Вадзім Махнеў), Belarusian canoe sprint kayaker born 1979 in Minsk; 2008 Olympic K4 1000 m champion, four Olympic medals, seven world titles, mostly with Raman Piatrushenka.
Valborg Christensen
Valborg Marie Christensen (-Møller), known as Val Moller in Canada, Danish breaststroke swimmer; 10th in the 1936 Olympic 200 m breaststroke, 100 m breaststroke world record 1:22.8 (1936), later 1990 World Masters Games gold medalist.
Valdemar Bandolowski
Valdemar Bandolowski (Voldimars Bandolowski), Danish sailor and lawyer born 1946, won Olympic Soling gold in 1976 and 1980 with Høj Jensen and Hansen, plus Soling and Dragon world titles.
Valent Sinkovic
Valent Sinković, Croatian rower (born 1988, Zagreb, HAVK Mladost), brother of Martin Sinković; three Olympic golds (Rio 2016 double sculls, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 pair), London 2012 silver, six world titles, and the 5:59.72 double sculls World Best Time.
Valentin Aas
Valentin Aas (Valentin Aass, Thomas Valentin Aass, 1887-1961) was a Norwegian sailor and diplomat who won 1912 Stockholm Olympic gold in the 8 metre class aboard Taifun, then served in Norway's foreign ministry.
Valentin Bontus
Valentin Bontus, Austrian Formula Kite racer born 2001 in Perchtoldsdorf, won the first ever Olympic men's kiteboarding gold at Paris 2024 in Marseille, beating Toni Vodišek and Max Maeder, with world bronze in 2024 and 2026.
Valentin Boreyko
Valentin Boreyko (Валентин Васильевич Борейко), Soviet rower (1933–2012), Olympic gold medalist in men's coxless pairs with Oleg Golovanov at Rome 1960 (7:02.01), silver at 1959 Europeans and 1962 Worlds, later a rowing coach.
Valentin Mankin
Valentin Mankin (Valentin Grigoryevich Mankin, 1938–2014), Soviet-Ukrainian sailor, the only yachtsman with Olympic golds in three classes: Finn 1968, Tempest 1972, Star 1980, plus 1976 silver; later Italian national coach.
Valentina Rodini
Valentina Rodini, Italian rower born 1995 in Cremona, won Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold in the lightweight women's double sculls with Federica Cesarini, Italy's first women's rowing Olympic medal, after 13th at Rio 2016; now a CONI board member.
Valer Toma
Valer Toma (Valeriu Toma), Romanian rower born 1957 in Padina, Buzău; Olympic gold in men's coxless pairs with Petru Iosub at Los Angeles 1984, fourth at Moscow 1980 with Constantin Postoiu, and 1986 world silver.
Valeria Gyenge
Valeria Gyenge (Valéria Gyenge, born 1933, Budapest), Hungarian swimmer, 1952 Helsinki Olympic 400 m freestyle champion in 5:12.1 OR; three world records; emigrated to Canada in 1956 as photographer and coach.
Valeria Rosca Racila
Valeria Rosca Racila (Valeria Roșca-Răcilă, later Răcilă van Groningen), Romanian rower born 1957 in Stulpicani, Suceava; 1984 Olympic single sculls champion and 1980 double sculls bronze medalist, later organizer of the Bucharest Marathon.
Valerio Perentin
Valerio Perentin (1909-1998), Italian rower and stroke of the SN Pullino coxed four that won Olympic gold at Amsterdam 1928; four European titles 1929-1934, later a Naples rowing coach.
Valery Didenko
Valery Didenko (Валерий Антонович Диденко, born 1946) is a Soviet sprint canoeist who won K4 1000 m gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics and world titles in 1970 and 1971; not the Afghan-war POW or the Baden-Baden businessman of the same name.
Vallam kali
Vallam kali (വള്ളംകളി), Kerala's traditional snake boat race held during Onam; crews of 100+ row Chundan Vallams of 100-140 ft in competitive races like the Nehru Trophy and ritual races like Aranmula.
Vanya Gesheva
Vanya Gesheva (Ваня Гешева), born 1960, Bulgarian sprint kayaker; four Olympic medals: K-1 500 m silver at Moscow 1980 and gold, silver, and bronze at Seoul 1988, the only Bulgarian with a full medal set from one Games.
Vasily Ivanov
Vasil Ivanov most often refers to Vasily Ivanov (Василий Иванов), Russian breaststroke swimmer born 1972 in Kuybyshev, 1992 Olympic relay silver medalist for the Unified Team and 24-time World Aquatics medalist; also a Bulgarian ski jumper and tennis player.
Vedaant Madhavan
Vedaant Madhavan (born 2005), son of actor R Madhavan, is an Indian freestyle swimmer; Danish Open 2022 gold (800m), national junior 1500m record breaker, Khelo India 2022 five-gold winner, and Asian Games 2026 debutant.
Vedbæk Sejlklub, Surfafdelingen
Vedbæk Sejlklub, Surfafdelingen, operating as Vedbæk Surfklub, is the windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP, and wing foiling department of Vedbæk Sejlklub, based at Vedbæk Havn north of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Veddelev Surfklub
Veddelev Surfklub is a Danish windsurfing club at Strandvejen 18, Roskilde, in Dansk Sejlunion's Isefjordkredsen; registered 2009 (CVR 32505163), chairman Jesper Christiansen, with a beginner beach-break spot on Roskilde Fjord.
Vendée Globe
Vendée Globe: solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world yacht race every four years from Les Sables-d'Olonne on 18.28 m IMOCA monohulls; first held 1989, record 64 days (Charlie Dalin, 2024-25), next start 12 November 2028.
Veniamin Tayanovich
Veniamin Igorevich Tayanovich (Вениамин Игоревич Таянович), born 1967 in Ufa, Soviet/Russian freestyle swimmer; 1992 Olympic gold 4x200 m and silver 4x100 m freestyle relay for the Unified Team; 7:11.95 world record holder 1992–1998.
Vera Ilyina
Vera Ilyina (Вера Сергеевна Ильина), Russian springboard diver born 1974 in Moscow; 2000 Olympic synchronized 3 m springboard champion with Yuliya Pakhalina, 2004 silver, four Games, four world silvers.
Veronica Cogeanu Cochela
Veronica Cogeanu Cochela (Cochelea), Romanian rower born 1965 in Voinești, Iași; six Olympic medals 1988–2000 including eights golds at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, five medals with Elisabeta Lipă.
Veronika Popova Andrusenko
Veronika Popova-Andrusenko (Вероника Андреевна Попова-Андрусенко), Russian swimmer born 1991 in Mikhaylovka; three Olympics (2012, 2016, 2020), world records in mixed relays, European record 4×100 m medley relay 3:53.38.
Veronique Meester
Veronique Meester, Dutch rower (born 1995, Amsterdam). Olympic silver in the women's four at Tokyo 2020 and gold in the women's pair with Ymkje Clevering at Paris 2024; retired January 2026 for medicine.
Verrückt
Verrückt, German for "insane," was the world's tallest water slide (168 ft 7 in) at Schlitterbahn Kansas City, opened 2014, closed after Caleb Schwab's 2016 decapitation, demolished 2018.
Veselin Đuho
Veselin Đuho (Веселин Ђуо), born 1960 in Foča, Croatian water polo player and coach; two Olympic golds with Yugoslavia (1984, 1988), 1986 world champion, VK Jug Dubrovnik legend.
Vibe Surf School Pompano Beach
Vibe Surf School Pompano Beach: Pompano Beach, Florida site of Vibe Surf School, founded 2016 in South Africa by Klaus Schroder and Johan Schutte; $100 private and $75 group one-hour lessons on a sandy-bottom beach.
Vibe Surf School Sunny Isles Beach
Vibe Surf School Sunny Isles Beach: surf school site at New Port Pier, 16501 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach, FL, one of three South Florida locations (with Pompano and Dania Beach) plus George, South Africa; $100 individual and $75 group one-hour lessons.