Marina Ivanovna Stepanova

Marina Ivanovna Stepanova , b. Makejewa ( Russian Марина Ивановна Степанова-Макеева ; born May 1, 1950 in Myaglovo , Leningrad Oblast ) is a former Russian athlete who competed for the Soviet Union. With a height of 1.67 m, her competition weight was 60 kg.

Marina Stepanowa improved the world record in the 400-meter hurdles three times . When she last set a world record, she was 36 years and 139 days old, making her the oldest female world record holder in the history of athletics.

The physical education teacher took part in the 1978 European Championships in Prague under her maiden name Makejewa . As sixth in the semifinals with 57.89 seconds, she could not qualify for the final. On July 27, 1979, she became Soviet champion in Moscow, setting a new world record with 54.78 seconds. After that, she married and in December 1981 their daughter Marina was born.

In 1984 she was second in the Soviet championships in 55.28 seconds. In 1985 she won the Soviet championship for the second time after 1979, this time in 54.37 seconds. In 1986 she was again champion in 53.84 seconds. At the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart, she won her preliminary run in 54.68 seconds, and in the semifinals she set a new championship record with 53.83 seconds. In the final on August 30, 1986, she ran a new world record with 53.32 seconds and won the title ahead of the previous world record holder Sabine Busch from the GDR, who was only 5 hundredths of a second above her previous world record in 53.60 seconds. On September 17th, Marina Stepanova ran as a guest in the semifinals of the Spartakiade for under 23-year-olds in Tashkent and improved her world record to 52.94 seconds.

It was only in 1993 that the British Sally Gunnell was able to undercut Marina Stepanova's world record.

Top performances

• 200 meters: 23.55 seconds (1986)
• 400 meters: 51.25 seconds (1980)
• 400 meter hurdles: 52.94 seconds (1986)
• 800 meters: 1: 59.8 minutes (1980)