Maria Isakova

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Maria Grigoryevna Isakova (Russian: Мария Григорьевна Исакова; born 5 July 1920), nicknamed Cinderella of Vyatka, is a former World Champion speed skater. She was born in Vyatka (now Kirov), Russian SFSR, and competed for the Soviet Union.

Maria Isakova started skating at a very young age, spending many hours every day on the ice because she liked skating very much. Seeing how fast she was, people in Vyatka told her to participate in the Soviet Allround Championships, but Isakova was reluctant at first. She finally gave in and when she participated in the 1936 Soviet Allround Championships, pretending to be aged 17 (she was not allowed to compete at her true age of 15), she finished fifth. However, it took until 1944 before she won an allround medal at the Soviet Championships. That 1944 allround medal was silver – gold ones would follow the next five years. She also won the prestigious Kirov prize five times, the first time as early as 1938, the last time in 1951.

Isakova participated in the World Allround Championships three times, winning gold every time. This made her the first female speed skater to become World Champion three times and, since her titles were consecutive, the first female speed skater to become World Champion in three consecutive years. For her achievements, Isakova was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Contents

[edit] Medals

An overview of medals won by Isakova at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
World Allround 1948
1949
1950		 – –
Soviet Allround 1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1951		 1944
1950		 –

[edit] World records

Over the course of her career, Isakova skated one world record:

Event Result Date Venue
1,500 m 2:29.5 12 February 1951 Medeo

[edit] Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Isakova skated her personal records.

Event Result Date Venue WR
500 m 47.7 8 January 1952 Medeo 46.4
1,000 m 1:37.2 16 February 1951 Medeo 1:38.8
1,500 m 2:29.5 12 February 1951 Medeo 2:36.7
3,000 m 5:21.7 23 January 1953 Medeo 5:21.3
5,000 m 9:32.0 1 February 1949 Moscow 9:28.3

[edit] References