Yefim Chulak

Yefim Chulak was born in 1948 in Ceadîr-Lunga

Chulak was born on 15 July 1948 in Ceadîr-Lunga, Moldova, then part of the Soviet Union, to a Jewish family. His mother Polina taught mathematics and his father Aharon was a manager in the textile industry. He tried several sports before taking up volleyball at 11.

At 16 he played for the senior team of his region, and in the late 1960s he joined the Soviet youth team. With it he won bronze at the 1969 world championship. He joined the senior Soviet national team in 1971.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics his team won bronze, and he witnessed the killing of 11 Israeli athletes there. In 1973 he earned a master's degree in physical education in Moscow. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics the team won silver, and he retired from playing in 1977 after seasons with CSKA Moscow.

He was also a technical officer in the Red Army and was not allowed to leave the country. Facing antisemitism in his job search, he coached CSKA Moscow from 1978 to 1990. In the early 1990s he moved to Israel and became assistant coach of the national volleyball team.

The job was part-time, and in 1995 he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he worked in financial consulting and coached volleyball. He is married, has 3 children and is retired.