Lyubov Petrovna Rusanova (russian: Любовь Петровна Русанова; born 2 February 1954) is a retired

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n swimmer who won two medals in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke events at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. She also won a silver medal in the 100 m breaststroke at the

1973 World Aquatics Championships The 1st FINA World Championships in Aquatics were held in the Tašmajdan Sports Centre in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia, from 31 August to 9 September 1973. Medal table Results Diving ;Men ;Women Swimming ;Men ;Women Synchro ...

. Her father was a locksmith and mother worked at a kindergarten. They had four children: elder brothers Vasily and Nikolai, and twins Anatoly and Lyubov; all four competed in swimming, though brother Anatoly quit at a young age. There was no pool in Krasnodar until 1967, and therefore they trained in the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucas ...

, which was heated all through the year by the nearby

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a st ...

. She graduated from the Kuban State University of Physical Education in Krasnodar. After retiring in 1976 she worked as a swimming coach. In the 2000s she was still competing in the masters category.

References

1954 births Living people Russian female breaststroke swimmers Soviet female breaststroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of the Soviet Union Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Krasnodar World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade {{Russia-swimming-bio-stub