Overview
- Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics announced Semenova’s death on January 9, prompting tributes for one of the game’s most dominant figures.
- Standing 2.13 meters, she won two Olympic golds for the USSR along with three world titles, ten consecutive European crowns, and a haul of club championships with Daugava/TTT Riga.
- Semenova’s 1987 move to Spain came only after Soviet approval, with Tintoretto Getafe paying authorities while she received a fraction of her salary and relied on teammates for basic needs.
- She lived with acromegaly and later severe complications, including mobility problems and an amputation, and struggled to afford medical care in retirement.
- Post‑career, she worked in Latvian sports organizations and was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007, as obituaries note conflicting reports on whether she was 73 or 74.