Galina Nikolayevna Prozumenshchikova ( rus, Галина Николаевна Прозуменщикова, p=ɡɐˈlʲinə nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvnə prəzʊˈmʲenʲɕːɪkəvə; 26 November 1948 – 19 July 2015) was a

Soviet 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, ...

breaststroke swimmer who also competed in medley relays. She won five Olympic medals in 1964, 1968 and 1972 and five European Championships medals in 1966 and 1970. Her first Olympic medal, the gold in 200 m breaststroke in 1964, was the first Olympic gold in swimming for the Soviet Union. From 1964 to 1966, she set five world records: four in

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

and one in 100 m breaststroke events. Between 1963 and 1972, she won 15 national titles and set 27 national records.

Biography

Galina was born in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, in the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

of the

Soviet Union 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 nationa ...

. She married twice and therefore changed her last name first to Stepanova ( rus, Степанова, p=sʲtʲɪˈpanəvə) and then to Ivannikova ( rus, Иванникова, p=ɪˈvanʲːɪkəvə). Her father, Nikolai Nikolayevich (1913–1991) was a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

captain. Her mother, Sofia Petrovna (1922–1987) was a nurse and took part in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Galina started swimming in a club in 1959 and until 1966 competed for SKF Sevastopol. By the time of her first Olympics in 1964, she had won several national and international competitions and set national and world records in the 200 m breaststroke. (Her favorite discipline was 100 m breaststroke, but it became an Olympic event only in 1968.) However, she underwent surgery for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

in July, just before the Games, and was not in her top form. She also had a strong rival, Svetlana Babanina, who set a world record in the 100 m breaststroke before the 1964 Olympics. Nevertheless, Prozumenshchikova won the 200 m event, setting a new Olympic record and winning the first Soviet Olympic gold in swimming. Babanina finished third. In 1966, Prozumenshchikova enrolled in the faculty of journalism of the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

(MSU) and moved to Moscow. That year, she set her final and fastest record for the 200 m breaststroke at 2:40.8—nearly seven full seconds lower than her first record of 2:47.7 in 1964—winning a gold medal in the event at the

1966 European Aquatics Championships The 1966 European Aquatics Championships were held in Utrecht, Netherlands from 20 to 27 August 1966. Titles were contested in swimming, diving and water polo (men). Medal table Medal summary Diving ;Men's events ;Women's events Swimm ...

, as well as taking silver in medley. Two years later, at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

, she came within one-tenth of a second of taking gold in the 100 m breaststroke. She settled for silver in the 100 m event and bronze in the 200 m breaststroke.''They Ruled the Pool: The 100 Greatest Swimmers in History'' (2013) by John Lohn, pp. 118 In 1969, Prozumenshchikova gave birth to a daughter, Irina, and was on the verge of retiring. However, she returned to competition in 1970, winning gold in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke and another medley silver at the

European Aquatics Championships The European Aquatics Championships is the continental Aquatics championship for Europe, which is organised by LEN—the governing body for aquatics in Europe. The Championships are currently held every two years (in even years); and since 2022, ...

that year. She swam for the Soviet Union in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

, repeating her 1968 performances in both the 100 m and 200 m to add two more Olympic medals to her tally, and retired the following year. Prozumenshchikova graduated from MSU in 1976 and was writing sports columns for the major newspaper ''

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes i ...

''. However, she soon left journalism, and between 1976 and 1980 worked as a sports functionary, and after 1980 as a swimming coach for children at CSKA. Along the way, in the 1970s, she remarried to economist Yuri Ivanovich Ivannikov (born 1950) and had a son, Grigory Yurievich, in 1979. In 1991, she competed in swimming again and set at least 35 national records in the "masters" category. Prozumenshchikova died aged 66 in Moscow on 19 July 2015 after a long illness, according to the Russian Swimming Federation. Her body was cremated.

Awards and honors

In 2013, two years before her death, Prozumenshchikova was recognized as one of the "100 Greatest Swimmers in History" in a book by swim journalist John Lohn. She ranked at number 60 in the book, which highlighted her Olympic and European medals and prowess in setting new world records. Prozumenshchikova also received special distinctions from her mother country, including: *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1972) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1993) *

Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовое отличие») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour o ...

(twice)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prozumenshchikova, Galina 1948 births 2015 deaths Soviet female swimmers Russian female swimmers Female breaststroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of the Soviet Union Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Sevastopol Moscow State University alumni Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Russian journalists Soviet journalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Universiade bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade

Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links