# Yury Zorin

**Yury Zorin** (Юрий Андреевич Зорин; born 1947) is a retired Soviet track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and the 400 meters hurdles, represented the Soviet Union at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and won medals at the European Championships, the European Indoor Championships, and the Summer Universiade.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / origin | Yury Andreyevich Zorin, born 1947 in Turinsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup> |
| Olympic result | 8th in the men's 400 meters hurdles final at the 1972 Munich Games, 50.25<sup>[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/61126)</sup> |
| Personal bests | 400 m hurdles 49.60 (1972); 400 m 46.4 (1969)<sup>[3](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ussr/yuriy-zorin-14344993)</sup> |
| European indoor titles | Gold, 4×400 m relay, Vienna 1970; silver, 4×390 m relay, Belgrade 1969; bronze, 400 m, Belgrade 1969 and Vienna 1970<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup> |
| Outdoor European medal | Silver, 4×400 m relay, Athens 1969, in a Soviet record of 3:03.0<sup>[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Jurij_Zorin)</sup> |
| Universiade | Silver, 4×400 m relay, Turin 1970<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup> |

## Early life and training

Zorin was born in Turinsk in [Sverdlovsk Oblast](https://www.edgepedia.org/sverdlovsk-oblast) and later lived in [Nizhny Tagil](https://www.edgepedia.org/nizhny-tagil), where he began training in athletics at the Urdalets sports club under the coach Yaropolok Petrovich Sidorov. He measured 188 cm and competed at 69 kg.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup>

## International career, 1969 to 1970

**1969.** Zorin joined the Soviet national team and won two medals at the European Indoor Games in Belgrade, a silver in the 4×390 meters relay and a bronze in the 400 meters.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup> At the 1969 European Athletics Championships in Athens he took silver in the 4×400 meters relay running with [Yevgeniy Borisenko](https://www.edgepedia.org/yevgeniy-borisenko), Boris Savchuk, and [Aleksandr Bratchikov](https://www.edgepedia.org/aleksandr-bratchikov); the relay set a Soviet record of 3:03.0, and Zorin was eliminated in the individual 400 meters semifinals.<sup>[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Jurij_Zorin)</sup>

**1970.** At the European Indoor Championships in Vienna he won bronze in the 400 meters in 48.4 and gold in the 4×400 meters relay, again with Borisenko, Savchuk, and Bratchikov, in 3:05.9.<sup>[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Jurij_Zorin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/6995797)</sup> That 3:05.9 was later ratified as the first official world indoor record for the 4×400 meters relay, with Zorin running the second leg in 46.5.<sup>[6](https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/sport/legkoatlety-sssr-postavili-mirovoy-rekord-v-1970-godu/)</sup> The same Soviet quartet won silver in the relay at the 1970 [Universiade](https://www.edgepedia.org/universiade) in Turin, and Zorin also finished second in the relay at the European Cup in Stockholm and won a USSR championship in Minsk that year.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)</sup>

## Munich 1972

Zorin later concentrated on the 400 meters hurdles.<sup>[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Jurij_Zorin)</sup>

In the Olympic 400 meters hurdles, contested by 37 runners from 25 countries, he ran 50.35 in the first round, 49.60 in the semifinal (a personal best, set on 1 September 1972), and 50.25 in the final on 2 September, finishing eighth.<sup>[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/61126)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ussr/yuriy-zorin-14344993)</sup> The final was won by Uganda's John Akii-Bua in a world record of 47.82, with [Ralph Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-mann) of the United States second and defending champion Dave Hemery of Great Britain third.<sup>[2](https://www.olympedia.org/results/61126)</sup>

## References

1. [Yury Zorin, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77725)
2. [400 metres Hurdles, Men, Munich 1972, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/results/61126)
3. [Yuriy ZORIN profile, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ussr/yuriy-zorin-14344993)
4. [Jurij Zorin, Encyklopedia internetowa](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Jurij_Zorin)
5. [European Indoor Championships 1970 results, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/6995797)
6. [Легкоатлеты СССР поставили мировой рекорд в 1970 году, Санкт-Петербургские ведомости](https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/sport/legkoatlety-sssr-postavili-mirovoy-rekord-v-1970-godu/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Sprinters and hurdlers › Hurdlers › Hurdlers of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc*

*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