Nina Romashkova-Ponomaryova

On the evening of 20 July 1952, Nina Romashkova (later Ponomaryova) became the first Soviet athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, and she also added another gold at the 1960 Olympics and won bronze at the 1956 Olympics. Romashkova-Ponomaryova, who took up athletics in 1947, when she started her university studies, was also the 1954 European discus champion and eight times Soviet champion (1951-56, 1958-59). During her career, she set one world record with the discus, throwing 53.61 a month after the 1952 Olympics in Odesa. Romashkova-Ponomaryova finished her sporting career after the 1964 Olympics, where she was 11th in the discus and later worked as an athletics coach in Kyiv, Ukraine and eventually in Moscow, Russia.

Personal Best: DT – 56.62 (1955).