Raissa Filippovna Smechnova

Raissa Filippowna Smechnowa ( Russian Раиса Филипповна Смехнова , English transcription Raisa Smekhnova , nee Катюкова - Katjukowa - Katyukova ; born  September 16, 1950 in Kaltan ) is a former Russian medium and long-distance runner who started for the Soviet Union .

Life

In 1975 she became the Soviet champion over 3000 m . The following year, she won gold with the Soviet team in twelfth place at the World Cross Country Championships in Chepstow and reached the semi-finals at the Olympic Games in Montreal over 1500 m .

At the World Cross Country Championships in 1977 in Düsseldorf she was sixth and again won the title with the team, and in 1979 in Limerick she was cross country runner-up in both the individual and team rankings. An eleventh place at the World Cross Country Championships in Paris in 1980 was followed by an eighth place and the third team title in Rome in 1982 .

In 1981 she ran her first marathon in 2:37:57 h. In 1982 and 1983 she was the Soviet runner-up. A bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 1983 in 2:31:13 h was followed by sixth place at the Tokyo International Women's Marathon at the end of the year .

In 1984 she was eighth in the Soviet championships, third in the friendship competitions and set a Soviet record on October 7 at a marathon in Vilnius with 2:29:10 h.

In 1985 she drove to the IAAF World Cup marathon as a Soviet champion . She took the lead on her own in the first half and at times had a lead of more than a minute. After she was overtaken by Katrin Dörre at kilometer 36 , she fell back further and further, although she tried to stimulate herself with needle pricks in her thigh, and came in tenth place. Since she had worn a headband of a brand not authorized by her association during the race, she was banned from starting abroad for the next two years. In 1987 she came second in the Bila-Zerkwa-Marathon and ran a time of 2:28:00 h on the 300 m short course.

At the 1988 European Cup marathon in Huy, she only had to admit defeat to Katrin Dörre and won silver. In the marathon of the Olympic Games in Seoul she came in 16th place. In 1989 she was fifth in the Osaka Women's Marathon and the London Marathon , and in 1990 eighth in the Pittsburgh Marathon .

Raissa Smechnowa is 1.66 m tall and weighed 55 kg during her active time. She is a physical education teacher and was trained by her husband Valeri, with whom she settled in Sochi .

Personal bests

• 1500 m: 3: 59.8 min, June 28, 1976, Podolsk
• 3000 m: 8: 41.77 min, August 7, 1976, College Park
• 10,000 m : 31: 59.70 min, June 24, 1984, Kiev
• Marathon: 2:28:40 h, April 30, 1988, Huy

Web links

• Raisa Katyukova-Smekhnova in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Raissa Filippowna Smechnowa in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• ШТРАФ ОТ КОМПАНИИ "АДИДАС" , interview on Novosti Sochi, November 3, 2007