The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Azerbaijan

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This page contains a list of the greatest Azerbaijani Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 26 of which were born in Azerbaijan. This makes Azerbaijan the birth place of the 68th most number of Athletes behind Moldova, and The Bahamas.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Azerbaijani Athletes of all time. This list of famous Azerbaijani Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Azerbaijani Athletes.

Photo of Galina Bystrova

1. Galina Bystrova (1934 - 1999)

With an HPI of 56.40, Galina Bystrova is the most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Galina Petrovna Bystrova (née Dolzhenkova; Russian: Галина Петровна Быстрова; 8 February 1934 – 11 October 1999) was a Soviet athlete. She competed in the 80 m hurdles at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics with the best achievement of fourth place in 1956. In 1964 she also took part in the newly introduced pentathlon event and won a bronze medal. She also won three European titles, two in the pentathlon (1958 and 1962) and one in the hurdles (1958) and set three world records in these events. Domestically she won six national titles, in the pentathlon, hurdles and long jump. Bystrova was born to a Russian family in Azerbaijan, where her father served with the Soviet Border Guard. After his service ended, the family moved to Nizhny Novgorod, where Bystrova started training in gymnastics. In 1952 she met her future husband and athletics coach Vasily Bystrov, who convinced her to switch to athletics. After retiring from competitions, Bystrova worked as an athletics coach alongside her husband. Her last years were marred by osteoarthritis developed as a result of arduous training and by conflicts were her husband. She died aged 65.

Photo of Nadezhda Khnykina-Dvalishvili

2. Nadezhda Khnykina-Dvalishvili (b. 1933)

With an HPI of 53.00, Nadezhda Khnykina-Dvalishvili is the 2nd most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Nadezhda Pavlovna Khnykina (Russian: Надежда Павловна Хныкина-Двалишвили; maiden name Nadezhda Pavlovna Dvalishvili, Georgian: ნადეჟდა დვალიშვილ-ხნიკინა; born June 24, 1933) is a former Soviet track and field athlete who competed mainly in the 200 metres and long jump.

Photo of Liu Hong

3. Liu Hong (b. )

With an HPI of 52.18, Liu Hong is the 3rd most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Liu Hong may refer to: Emperor Houshao of Han (died 180 BC), personal name Liu Hong (劉弘), Western Han emperor Liu Hong (astronomer) (劉洪; 129–210), Eastern Han astronomer Emperor Ling of Han (156–189), personal name Liu Hong (劉宏), Eastern Han emperor Liu Hong (minister) (fl. 189) (劉弘), minister of works in 2 months during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han Liu Hong (劉弘), Liu Bei's father Liu Hong (Jin dynasty) (劉弘; 236–306), courtesy name Shuhe (叔和), Western Jin official Liu Hong (Liu Song) (劉宏; 434–458), courtesy name Xiudu (休度), Liu Song dynasty prince Liu Hong (politician) (刘洪), former director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China Liu Hong (racewalker) (刘虹; born 1987), race walker Liu Hong (cyclist) (born 1969), cyclist

Photo of Zemfira Meftahatdinova

4. Zemfira Meftahatdinova (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 47.68, Zemfira Meftahatdinova is the 4th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Zemfira Ali gizi Meftahatdinova (Tatar: Зимфирә Гали кызы Мифтахетдинова, romanized: Zimfirä Ğäli qızı Miftaxetdineva, Azerbaijani: Zemfira Əli qızı Meftahətdinova, born 28 May 1963) is a retired Azerbaijani sport shooter who won two Olympic medals in skeet.

Photo of Ramil Guliyev

5. Ramil Guliyev (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 46.21, Ramil Guliyev is the 5th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Ramil Guliyev (Azerbaijani: Ramil Eldar oğlu Quliyev; born 29 May 1990) is an Azerbaijani-born Turkish sprinter. He competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. At the 2017 World Championships, Guliyev became the World Champion in the 200 metres, winning Turkey's first ever gold medal in the World Championships. His club is Fenerbahçe Athletics. In 2018, he won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the European Championships.

Photo of Samir Mammadov

6. Samir Mammadov (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 44.37, Samir Mammadov is the 6th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Samir Mammadov (Azerbaijani: Samir Məmmədov; born May 15, 1988) is a boxer from Azerbaijan, who won the silver medal in the men's flyweight division (– 51 kg) at the 2006 European Championships in Bulgaria and bronze at the 2007 World Championships.

Photo of Malik Beyleroğlu

7. Malik Beyleroğlu (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 42.90, Malik Beyleroğlu is the 7th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Malik Beyleroğlu (born January 21, 1970) is a former amateur boxer from Turkey(Azerbaijani origin), born in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the men's middleweight division (71 – 75 kg). In the final, he was defeated by Ariel Hernández of Cuba. Holding a PhD in sports, Beyleroğlu is currently a lecturer for physical education and sports at Sakarya University.

Photo of Hasrat Jafarov

8. Hasrat Jafarov (b. 2002)

With an HPI of 39.42, Hasrat Jafarov is the 8th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijani: Həsrət Cəfərov; born 5 October 2002 in Goranboy) is an Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler competing in the 67 kg division. He won the gold medal at the 2023 European Wrestling Championships.

Photo of Orkhan Safarov

9. Orkhan Safarov (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 36.19, Orkhan Safarov is the 9th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Orkhan Safarov (born 10 August 1991) is an Azerbaijani judoka. He won a bronze at the 2013 World Judo Championships in the ‍–‍60 kg category. In 2021, Safarov competed in the men's 66 kg event at the 2021 Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar.

Photo of Nijat Rahimov

10. Nijat Rahimov (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 35.86, Nijat Rahimov is the 10th most famous Azerbaijani Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Nijat Rahimov (Azerbaijani: Nicat Rəhimov; born 13 August 1993) is an Azerbaijani-born naturalized Kazakhstani weightlifter. He represented Kazakhstan at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the category of 77 kg, he placed first, winning the gold medal and setting a new world record with a clean and jerk lift of 214 kilograms. In 2022, the medal was stripped and he was banned when it was revealed he substituted urine samples.

People

Pantheon has 26 people classified as Azerbaijani athletes born between 1933 and 2004. Of these 26, 25 (96.15%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Azerbaijani athletes include Nadezhda Khnykina-Dvalishvili, Liu Hong, and Zemfira Meftahatdinova. The most famous deceased Azerbaijani athletes include Galina Bystrova. As of April 2024, 20 new Azerbaijani athletes have been added to Pantheon including Liu Hong, Samir Mammadov, and Malik Beyleroğlu.

Living Azerbaijani Athletes

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Deceased Azerbaijani Athletes

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Newly Added Azerbaijani Athletes (2024)

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