He became a household name in the Track and Field circles after having won the sprint-double at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki.

[3] At the 1972 Munich Olympics, two American favourites and world record holders, Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, missed the 100 m quarterfinals due to a misunderstanding about the starting time of the heats.

Coincidentally Borzov almost missed his own quarter-final as well, having fallen asleep in the stadium, his coach waking him up just as the race was about to start.

[5][6] He also won silver as part of the Soviet 4 × 100 relay team, leaving Munich with three medals and the title of the fastest human in the world.

A persisting injury forced Borzov to abandon his hopes to participate in his third Olympic Games.

He has also held a Youth and Sports cabinet minister position with the Government of Ukraine from 1990 till 1997.