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Home > Olympics > Gold Medalists > Svetlana Masterkova
Svetlana Masterkova
The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every four years which comprises of summer and winter games. Though the first ancient games were held in 776 B.C, the modern games started from 1896.The unity of the 5 continents is shown on the Olympic flag by five colorful intertwined rings of red, blue, green, yellow, and black, created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin to represent atleast one color of the participating country’s national flag.
Svetlana Alexandrovna Masterkova was born on January 17, 1968 is a Russian former middle distance runner. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in both the 800 and 1,500 metres. Masterkova started out as an 800 meter runner. Her breakthrough came in 1991, winning the national championships of the Soviet Union, which also qualified her for the World Championships. In Tokyo, she placed eighth in the final. During the following seasons, she had some minor successes silver at the IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships in Athletics in 1993.
In 1996, she returned to athletics. In stead of only running the 800 meter, Masterkova also decided to compete in the 1500 meter, a distance she hadn't competed in for years. At the Russian Championships, she won both distances in top times. However, she wasn't considered as a real favourite for the Olympic gold, Maria Mutola and Ana Fidelia Quirot was expected to fight for the title in Atlanta. But Masterkova took the lead from the start, and led the entire race to become Olympic champion. After this surprise, Masterkova caused a major upset by also winning the 1500m in a similar fashion, thereby equalling Tatyana Kazankina's performance at the 1976 Olympics.
Masterkova couldn't repeat her feat at the World Championships the next year, as an achilles tendon injury caused her to drop out in the heats of the 1500 meter. Her 1998 season was great again, crowned by a win in the 1500 m at the European Championships. At the 1999 World championships, Masterkova again contested both middle distance events. She was beaten in the 800 m by Ludmila Formanova and placed third, but comprehensively won the 1500 meter title. This would be her last major success. Although Masterkova participated in the Sydney Olympics, she abandoned her 1500 meter heat, retiring at the end of the season.
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