Sportsאיגור אברונין

Igor Avrunin

Igor Avrunin was a USSR-born Israeli track and field athlete who set Israeli records in the discus throw and the shot put.

1957 to 2020Israeli discus throw recordFormer Israeli shot put recordIsraeli throwing championships

Born: 16 July 1957, Gomel
Died: 7 January 2020, Ashdod
Occupation: athletics competitor

Igor Avrunin was born in 1957 in Gomel

Igor Avrunin was born in 1957 in Gomel to a Jewish family. His father taught physical education at a college and helped develop his athletic ability. He began in a youth sports school of the Olympic reserve.

After finishing college in Gomel, he moved to Kaunas, Lithuania, and competed for Dinamo Kaunas under coach Rimantas Plungė. He won Lithuanian titles and set a personal shot put mark of 20.68 m in Kyiv in 1983. In 1984 he raised the Lithuanian discus record to 67.14 m, and he received the title Master of Sports of the USSR, International Class.

He immigrated to Israel in 1990 and competed for Maccabi Tel Aviv. A special agreement let him compete abroad after 1 year, and in 1991 he took part in the World Indoor Championships in Seville and the World Championships in Tokyo. In 1991 he set Israeli records of 62.24 m in the discus and 19.09 m in the shot put.

He won Israeli discus titles in 1991 and 1992 and shot put titles in 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996. After retiring he taught mathematics and physics, worked in a metal factory and became a software engineer. He also coached young throwers and died in Ashdod in 2020 after a long illness with cancer.

Milestones in Igor Avrunin's life

1957
Born in Gomel.
1980
Won the Lithuanian discus title.
1983
Set a personal shot put mark of 20.68 m in Kyiv.
1984
Set a Lithuanian discus record of 67.14 m.
1990
Immigrated to Israel.
1991
Set Israeli records in the discus and shot put and competed at the World Championships in Tokyo.
1996
Won the Israeli shot put title.
2020
Died in Ashdod.