Nina Grigoryevna Otkalenko (née Pletnyova; russian: Нина Григорьевна Откаленко; 23 May 1928 – 13 May 2015) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
middle-distance runner. She won a European title in the 800 m at the inaugural
1954 European Athletics Championships
The 5th European Athletics Championships were held at Stadion Neufeld from 25–29 August 1954 in the Swiss capital Bern. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald.
Medal summary
Complete results were publ ...
and set multiple world records in this event in 1951–54. She missed the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, where women's middle-distance events were not part of the program, and the 1960 Olympics due to an injury.
[
In the 1950s Otkalenko became the most successful record breaker in the women's 800 m event. Starting with a ]world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of 2:12.0 minutes in 1951, she went on to improve her own 800 metres world record
The following table shows the world record progression in the men's and women's 800 metres, officially ratified by the IAAF.
Men
The first world record in the men's 800 metres was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federatio ...
four more times. Spearheading a significant improvement in women's times in the event over her career, her last world record of 2:05.0 minutes in 1955 stood for almost five years, before it was beaten by her compatriot Lyudmila Shevtsova.Yelizaveta Yermolayeva
Yelizaveta Aleksandrovna Yermolayeva ( rus, Елизавета Александровна Ермолаева; born 2 April 1930) is a former Soviet middle-distance runner.
Yermolayeva won the 800 metres at the 1957 World University Games ...
. She also set world records in the pre-IAAF era, with a 400 m record of 55.5 in 1954 and a 1500 m record of 4:37.0 minutes in 1952.[Nina Otkalenko]
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 17 May 2015.
Outside of her European title, she won medals at the World Festival of Youth and Students
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History
The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...
, twice winning the 800 m title in 1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
and 1955, as well as taking 400 metres silver medals at both those championships.World Student Games (UIE)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 9 December 2014. She was highly successful in domestic competition, ending her career with a total of 22 Soviet titles in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
and
cross country disciplines.
[Former world record-holder and 1954 European 800m champion Otkalenko dies]
IAAF (14 May 2015). Retrieved on 17 May 2015.
International competitions
References
External links
Profilearchived)
*
Nina Otkalenko's profile in the Modern Museum of Sportsincludes photos of her and her awards and decorations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Otkalenko, Nina
1928 births
2015 deaths
Sportspeople from Kursk
Russian female middle-distance runners
Soviet female middle-distance runners
European Athletics Championships medalists
World record setters in athletics (track and field)