Lyudmila Zharkova-Maslakova

For more than a decade, Lyudmila Maslakova (née Zharkova) was the leading Soviet female sprinter. Maslakova was selected for the Soviet national team as a teenager in 1968 after she had won 100, 200, and 4x100 relay golds at the 1968 European junior Championships. She was selected for the Soviet Olympic team and won a bronze medal with the 4x100 relay. Two weeks before the Mexico City Olympics, Maslakova set a world record when she was with the Soviet 4x100 relay team that clocked 43.6 in the rarified air of Mexico City, also running on a team that broke the 4x110 yards mark with 44.15 in 1974. Maslakova competed at three more Olympics and won two more Olympic 4x100 relay medals – silver in 1980 and bronze in 1976. Her best individual achievement at the Olympics was reaching the semi-finals of the 100 in 1972 and 1976, and semi-finals of the 200 in 1980. At the European Championships Maslakova won gold in the 4x100 in 1978 and bronzes in the 100 in 1978 and the 4x100 relay in 1971. She also won a 100 gold at the 1975 Summer Universiade and 4x100 relay bronze at the 1977 World Cup. Maslakova won 11 Soviet titles – 100 in 1975-77; 200 in 1978 and 1980; and 4x100 relay in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977-78 and 1980. Maslakova retired from sports after the 1980 Olympics and later worked as an athletics coach. Her most famous pupil was the 2004 Olympic silver medalist Nataliya Ivanova. In 2009, Maslakova became head coach of the Russian national sprint team.

Personal Bests: 100 – 11.21 (1980); 200 – 22.62 (1978).