Alex Ovechkin is the most recognizable Russian athlete per a poll of Russian citizens, Evgeni Malkin ranks fifth

Alex Ovechkin is the most recognizable Russian athlete among his fellow compatriots.

According to the Bookmaker Rating survey of 3,200 Russians, the Washington Capitals captain was recognized by 17.4 percent of the respondents. Only one other hockey player ranked in the revealed top six, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin ranked fifth, being recognized by only 3.3 percent of respondents.

Three of the top six are professional soccer players, and soccer is the most-watched and most-played sport in Russia.

Most recognized Russian athletes

Ovechkin finishing first is no surprise, as the 39-year-old winger has been the premier Russian athlete in pro sports for the last two decades. The Great 8 was also repeatedly in the news last season as he broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record in April.

The three-time NHL MVP has led the league in goal scoring a record nine times and has represented Russia at the international level in multiple tournaments. Ovechkin was one of Russia’s alternate captains at the 2014 Winter Olympics hosted in Sochi, Russia.

Malkin is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and one-time NHL MVP. The Pittsburgh Penguins star also won a World Championship MVP award for Russia in the nation’s 2012 gold-medal-winning effort.

Daniil Medvedev, who ranked second, is a 29-year-old professional tennis player from Moscow, Russia. Medvedev has previously been ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and won 20 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including the 2021 US Open and 2020 ATP Finals.

Medvedev defeated tennis superstar Novak Djokovic en route to claiming both of his signature wins.

Artem Dzyuba and Aleksandr Golovin, ranking third and fourth, respectively, are both Russian soccer stars. Dzyuba, currently of the Russian Premier League’s Akron Tolyatti, is a striker who holds the record for most goals scored by a Russian player for club and country (240).

Golovin currently plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and captains the Russia national team.

Andrey Arshavin is a soccer star who notably once played for Arsenal, a top English Premier League club. The 44-year-old winger and midfielder retired from professional soccer in 2018 after scoring 141 goals in 637 career appearances for four different clubs.

Among active Russian sports bettors, Ovechkin also led the survey (37.8%), followed by Dzyuba in second place (14%) and Medvedev in third (12.2%).