# Nadezhda Radzevich

**Nadezhda Radzevich** (Надежда Борисовна Радзевич; born 1953) is a retired Soviet volleyball player who won the gold medal in women's volleyball at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games as a member of the Soviet Union team. Her full name is Nadezhda Borisovna Radzevich, born Zezyulya, and she competed internationally as Nadezhda Zezyulya until 1976.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Nadezhda Borisovna Radzevich (Zezyulya-); original name Надежда Борисовна Радзевич (Зезюля)<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup> |
| Born | 1953 in Orenburg, then called Chkalov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup> |
| Position | Central blocker; height 178 cm, weight 73 kg<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup> |
| Club | Uralochka, Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), 1970–1981<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup> |
| Olympic result | Gold, women's volleyball, 1980 Moscow Olympics, Soviet Union<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup> |
| Other major medals | European Championships gold 1975, 1977, and 1979 and silver 1981; World Championships bronze 1978; World Cup bronze 1981<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup> |

## Early career and club

In 1970, at age 17, she moved to Sverdlovsk and joined Uralochka, the club of coach Nikolai Karpol that dominated Soviet women's volleyball; a Sport-Express account of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation's "Volleyball. Our Champions" project records that Karpol came in person to persuade her parents to let her enter the Uralochka boarding school.<sup>[3](https://www.sport-express.net/volleyball/ours_champions/videoreports/voleybol-nashi-chempiony-nadezhda-radzevich-istoriya-i-neizvestnye-fakty-o-lidere-komandy-nikolaya-karpolya-2461807/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup>

She spent her entire playing career at Uralochka, from 1970 to 1981 or 1982 depending on the source, and with the club won four consecutive Soviet championships from 1978 to 1981 and the European Champions' Cup in 1981.<sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup> Russian reference sources credit her with five Soviet titles in total, counting a 1976 championship won with the USSR national team, which entered the Soviet championship as an experiment that year; she also took Soviet championship bronze in 1977.<sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup>

## National team

Her record with the team includes three European titles, in [Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia) in 1975 (competed as Nadezhda Zezyulya), Finland in 1977, and France in 1979, a European silver in Bulgaria in 1981, a bronze at the 1978 World Championships, and a bronze at the 1981 World Cup.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup>

**Moscow 1980.** At the 1980 Olympics, played on home ground, the Soviet women's team won the tournament, losing only three sets in five matches, and the USSR became the first nation to sweep both volleyball gold medals under the Olympic format.<sup>[4](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/volleyball-101-olympic-history-records-and-results)</sup> The squad included Radzevich alongside [Nataliya Razumova](https://www.edgepedia.org/nataliya-razumova), Olga Solovova, Yelena Akhaminova, Yelena Andreyuk, Irina Makogonova, Lyubov Kozyreva, Svetlana Nikishina, Lyudmila Chernyshova, Svetlana Badulina, Lidiya Loginova, and Larisa Pavlova, who did not see playing time.<sup>[5](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/URS/sports/VVO.1)</sup>

## Later life

From 1992 to 1995 she headed the department of physical education at Ural State University of Economics in [Yekaterinburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/yekaterinburg), and later coached at the sports and fitness complex of the city's tram and trolleybus administration.<sup>[2](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)</sup>

## References

1. [Nadezhda Radzevich, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53149)
2. [Надежда Радзевич, Биография, Peoples.ru](https://www.peoples.ru/sport/volleyball/nadezhda-radzevich/)
3. [«Волейбол. Наши чемпионы» | Надежда Радзевич, Sport-Express](https://www.sport-express.net/volleyball/ours_champions/videoreports/voleybol-nashi-chempiony-nadezhda-radzevich-istoriya-i-neizvestnye-fakty-o-lidere-komandy-nikolaya-karpolya-2461807/)
4. [Volleyball 101: Olympic history, records and results, NBC Olympics](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/volleyball-101-olympic-history-records-and-results)
5. [Soviet Union in Volleyball, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/countries/URS/sports/VVO.1)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Other individual sports and outdoor recreation › Modern pentathletes*

*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license