Nina Grigoryevna Otkalenko (née Pletnyova; ; 23 May 1928 – 13 May 2015) was a
Soviet
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 ...
middle-distance runner. She won a European title in the 800 m at the inaugural
1954 European Athletics Championships
The 5th European Athletics Championships were held at Stadion Neufeld from 25–29 August 1954 in the Swiss capital Bern. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald.
Medal summary
Complete results were publis ...
and set multiple world records in this event in 1951–54. She missed the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, where women's middle-distance events were not part of the program, and the 1960 Olympics due to an injury.
[
In the 1950s Otkalenko became the most successful record breaker in the women's 800 m event. Starting with a ]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 ...
of 2:12.0 minutes in 1951, she went on to improve her own 800 metres world record four more times. Spearheading a significant improvement in women's times in the event over her career, her last world record of 2:05.0 minutes in 1955 stood for almost five years, before it was beaten by her compatriot Lyudmila Shevtsova.[Nina Otkalenko]
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 17 May 2015.
Outside of her European title, she won medals at the World Festival of Youth and Students
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History
The festival has been held occasionally since 1947, mainl ...
, twice winning the 800 m title in 1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
and 1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
, as well as taking 400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...
silver medals at both those championships.World Student Games (UIE)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 9 December 2014. She was highly successful in domestic competition, ending her career with a total of 22 Soviet titles in
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
and
cross country disciplines.
[Former world record-holder and 1954 European 800m champion Otkalenko dies]
IAAF (14 May 2015). Retrieved on 17 May 2015.
International competitions
References
External links
Profilearchived)
*
Nina Otkalenko's profile in the Modern Museum of Sportsincludes photos of her and her awards and decorations
__NOTOC__
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otkalenko, Nina
1928 births
2015 deaths
Sportspeople from Kursk
Russian female middle-distance runners
Soviet female middle-distance runners
European Athletics Championships medalists
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
20th-century Russian sportswomen