Valentina Mikhailovna Yegorova (russian: Валентина Михайловна Егорова, born 16 February 1964) is a

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. She was born in

Cheboksary Cheboksary (; russian: Чебокса́ры, r=Cheboksáry, p=tɕɪbɐˈksarɨ; cv, Шупашкар, ''Şupaşkar'') is the capital city of Chuvashia, Russia and a port on the Volga River. Geography The city is located in the Volga Upland reg ...

. Her first medal in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

came at the

1990 European Athletics Championships The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. The host stadium was Stadion Poljud. It was the last participation of East Germany (which was already scheduled to be merged ...

, where she was the silver medallist.

Career

Yegorova competed in the women's marathon for the Unified Team at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. There she won the gold medal beating the Japanese athlete

Yuko Arimori is a Japanese professional marathon runner and a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Career Arimori competed for Japan in the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano ...

into second. She won a second global title at the

1995 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 4th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 1, 1995, from Montbéliard to Belfort, France. A total of 243 athletes, 147 men and 96 women, from 54 countries took part. Complete results were published. Medallists Race Res ...

. She returned to compete for Russia in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

held 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 498,715 ...

, where she won the silver medal in the women's marathon, again beating

this time into third. She made her final major appearance at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, where she failed to finish the

Olympic marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the prog ...

. On the road circuit, Yegorova won the 1993 and 1994 editions of the

Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

(times of 2:26:40 and 2:30:09) and she won the inaugural

Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon ( ja, 長野オリンピック記念長野マラソン) is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Mara ...

in 1999 in 2:28:41. She placed eleventh at the 2001

Nagoya Marathon The , named until the 2010 race, is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds World Athletics Platinum road race status. It i ...

, with a finishing time of 2:28:40 hours.

International competitions

References

* * 1964 births Living people People from Cheboksary Sportspeople from Chuvashia Russian female long-distance runners Russian female marathon runners Soviet female long-distance runners Soviet female marathon runners Olympic female marathon runners Olympic athletes of the Unified Team Olympic athletes of Russia Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists Japan Championships in Athletics winners {{Russia-Olympic-medalist-stub