Svetlana Aleksandrovna Masterkova (russian: Светлана Александровна Мастеркова; born 17 January 1968) is a Russian former middle-distance runner and former women's world record holder for the mile and the current 1000 metres world record world record. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in both the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

Career

Born in Achinsk (

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

), Masterkova started out as an

runner. She first appeared internationally at the

1985 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1985 European Athletics Junior Championships was the eighth edition of the biennial athletics competition for European athletes aged under twenty. It was held in Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a un ...

, taking 6th place in the 800 metres. Her breakthrough came in 1991, winning the national championships of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, which also qualified her for the World Championships. In

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, she placed eighth in the final. During the following seasons, she had some minor successes (silver at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1993), but also suffered from injuries. In 1994 and 1995, she took a break from running, giving birth to a daughter (Anastasia). In 1996, she returned to athletics. Instead of only running the 800 m, Masterkova also decided to compete in the 1500 metres, a distance she had not competed in four years. At the Russian Championships, she won both distances in top times. However, she was not considered as a real favourite for the 800 m Olympic gold;

Maria Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( ; born 27 October 1972) is a retired female track and field athlete from Mozambique who specialised in the 800 metres running event. She is only the fourth female track and field athlete to compete at six Olympic Gam ...

and Ana Fidelia Quirot were expected to fight for the title in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. Masterkova took the lead from the start, and led the entire race to become Olympic champion. After this surprise, Masterkova caused a major upset by also winning the 1500 m in a similar fashion, thereby equaling Tatyana Kazankina's performance at the 1976 Olympics ( Kelly Holmes would repeat the performance in 2004). She completed her season by also setting two new

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 organizati ...

s at the 1000 metre and mile distances. Masterkova was not able to repeat her feat at the World Championships the next year, as an achilles tendon injury caused her to drop out in the heats of the 1500 metres. Her 1998 season was great again, crowned by a win in the 1500 m at the European Championships. At the 1999 World championships, Masterkova again contested both middle distance events. She won bronze in the 800 m won by

Ludmila Formanová Ludmila Formanová () (born 2 January 1974) is a former Czech middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. She was born in Čáslav. In 1999 she broke Maria de Lurdes Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( ; born 27 October 1972) is ...

but comprehensively won the 1500 metres title. This would be her last major success. Although Masterkova participated in the Sydney Olympics, she abandoned her 1500 metres heat. She announced her retirement at Znamensky Indoor stadium on 7 January 2003.

Personal life

Svetlana married Russian professional

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

cyclist Asiat Saitov in 1994. Their daughter

Anastasiya Saitova Anastasiya is a feminine given name. Notable people with that name include the following: Sports Athletics * Anastasiya Ilyina (born 1982), Russian triple jumper and long jumper * Anastasiya Juravleva (born 1981), Uzbekistani triple jumper and lon ...

is a professional tennis player, taking her first singles title in Sharm El Sheikh and ranked number 511 in the world in 2014.

Records

Honours and awards

* Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (26 August 1996) - for services to the State and outstanding achievements in sport *Honoured Master of Sports of Russia * IAAF World Athlete of the Year (1996) *

European Sportsperson of the Year The PAP European Sportsperson of the Year ( pl, Ankieta PAP na 10 najlepszych sportowców Europy) is an annual sports award presented by Polish Press Agency (PAP). Both male and female athletes are considered for the award by a panel of 27 internati ...

(1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masterkova, Svetlana 1968 births Living people People from Achinsk Sportspeople from Krasnoyarsk Krai Russian female middle-distance runners Olympic female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Russia Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Russia World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists Soviet Athletics Championships winners Russian Athletics Championships winners European Athlete of the Year winners Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners World Athletics record holders Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class

Career

Personal life

Records

Honours and awards

See also

References