Svetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova

Svetlana Masterkova
Full name	Svetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova
nation	Russia
birthday	17th January 1968
place of birth	Achinsk
size	172 cm
Weight	59 kg
Career
discipline	Middle distance run
Best performance	1: 55.87 min ( 800 m ) 3: 56.77 min ( 1500 m )
status	resigned
End of career	2000
Medal table
Olympic games 2 × 0 × 0 × World championships 1 × 0 × 1 × European championships 1 × 0 × 0 × Indoor World Cup 0 × 1 × 0 × Indoor European Championships 0 × 0 × 1 ×
Olympic games gold Atlanta 1996 800 m gold Atlanta 1996 1500 m World championships gold Seville 1999 1500 m bronze Seville 1999 800 m European championships gold Budapest 1998 1500 m Indoor world championships silver Seville 1993 800 m European Indoor Championships bronze Stockholm 1996 800 m

Svetlana Alexandrowna Masterkova ( Russian Светлана Александровна Мастеркова , English transcription Svetlana Masterkova ; born January 17, 1968 in Achinsk ) is a former Russian middle-distance runner . In 1996 she became a two-time Olympic champion .

biography

Masterkowa made her breakthrough in 1991 at the Soviet championships, where she became national champion over 800 meters and was able to qualify for the world championships in Tokyo . There she was eighth in the 800 meter race. In 1992 she had some minor successes, including a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships. In 1994 and 1995 she took time off and gave birth to a daughter.

In 1996 she returned to athletics. She decided not only to run 800 meters, but also 1,500 meters (a distance she hadn't competed in years). At the Russian championships she won both races with very good times. Still, she was not considered a favorite at the Atlanta Olympics ; victories were expected from Maria de Lurdes Mutola and Ana Fidelia Quirot . In the 800 meter race, Masterkowa led away from the start and also won. After this surprise, another shock followed for her competitors when she also won over 1500 meters.

At the 1997 World Championships in Athens Masterkowa could not build on their achievements. An Achilles tendon injury forced her to give up the 1500 meter run. The following season, however, was again very successful: At the European Championships in 1998 in Budapest , she won the 1,500 meter race. At the 1999 World Championships in Seville , she was third over 800 meters and world champion over 1500 meters. After the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney were disappointing for her, she announced her retirement from top-class sport at the end of the season.

Since 1996 she holds the current world record (as of February 2012) over 1000 meters (2: 28.98 min)

Awards

• World athlete of the year 1996
• Europe's Sportswoman of the Year (PAP) 1996
• Europe's Sportswoman of the Year (UEPS) 1996
• Induction into the IAAF Hall of Fame 2013

Web links

• Svetlana Alexandrowna Masterkowa in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Svetlana Masterkova in the database of World Athletics (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ World and continental records of the IAAF over 1000 meters