Elvīra Ozoliņa

Elvīra Ozoliņa (also Russian Эльвира Анатольевна Озолина , Elwira Anatoljewna Osolina ; born October 8, 1939 in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg ) is a former Latvian athlete who competed for the Soviet Union. With a height of 1.76 m, her competition weight was 67 kg.

At the beginning of the 1960 season Ozoliņa threw two world records in the javelin throw with 57.92 m and 59.55 m. At the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 she lived up to her role as favorite and won with 55.98 m before Dana Zátopková (53.78 m) from Czechoslovakia. Ozoliņa won her second big title at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade. With 54.93 m she was clearly ahead of second-placed Romanian Maria Diaconescu with 52.10. After Ozoliņa had set another world record in 1963 with 59.78 m, she succeeded on August 27, 1964 in Kiev at the Championships of the Soviet Union with 61.38 m, the first 60-meter throw by a javelin thrower. This made her the clear favorite at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. But in the qualification the Russian Jelena Gorchakova surpassed the world record of Ozoliņa with 62.40. And in the final, the 17-year-old Romanian Mihaela Peneș threw 60.54 m in the first attempt and won the gold medal with this throw. Ozoliņa was fifth with 54.81 m. At the European Championships in Budapest in 1966 Ozoliņa was fifth again with 55.52 m.

In addition to 1964, Ozoliņa also won the championship of the Soviet Union in 1961, 1962 and 1966.

Elvīra Ozoliņa was married to the Latvian javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, who also started for the Soviet Union, until his death in April 2020 . Both son Voldemārs Lūsis is also a javelin thrower and took part in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games for Latvia. Despite her marriage, she competed under her maiden name throughout her career.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics. Berlin 1999 (published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation eV )

Footnotes

1. ↑ Elvīra Ozoliņa : Biography, listing of their achievements, records and successes (Latvian).
2. ↑ hba / dpa: Olympic champion from 1968: Latvian javelin thrower Janis Lusis is dead. In: Spiegel Online . April 29, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020 .