Galina Stepanova
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Galina Nikolayevna Prozumenshchikova ( rus, Галина Николаевна Прозуменщикова, p=ɡɐˈlʲinə nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvnə prəzʊˈmʲenʲɕːɪkəvə; 26 November 1948 – 19 July 2015) was a Soviet
breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...
swimmer who also competed in medley relays. She won five
Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...
s 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 record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...
s: four in
200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), 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 th ...
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 on 26 November 1948 in
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
, in the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. 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 (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
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 Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
(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 Swimming ...
, as well as taking silver in medley. Two years later, at the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...
, 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 Aquatic sports, Aquatics championship for Europe, which is organised by Ligue Européenne de Natation, LEN—the governing body for aquatics in Europe. The Championships are currently held eve ...
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 officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
, 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, r=Izvestiya, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in February 1917, ''Izvestia'', which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of th ...
''. 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 country, including: *
Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...
(1972) *
Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...
(1993) *
Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour or contributions in the fields of science, culture or the manuf ...
(twice)


See also

*
List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame is a history museum and hall of fame, serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around the world. List of the members of the International Swimming Hall ...
*
World record progression 100 metres breaststroke This is a listing of the history of the World Record in the 100 breaststroke swimming event. The first world record in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1961, while the wome ...
*
World record progression 200 metres breaststroke The first world record in the men's 200 metres breaststroke in long course (50 metres) swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, spor ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prozumenshchikova, Galina 1948 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Sevastopol Moscow State University alumni European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers for the Soviet Union Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Summer World University Games medalists in swimming World record setters in swimming Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian female breaststroke swimmers Russian women journalists Soviet female breaststroke swimmers Soviet journalists 20th-century Russian sportswomen