Galina Prozumenshchikova

Galina Prozumenshchikova

Galina Prozumenshchikova in 1966
Personal information
Nationality	Ukrainian
Born	(1948-11-26) 26 November 1948 Sevastopol, USSR
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Breaststroke
Club	SKF Sevastopol; CSKA Moscow
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for the  Soviet Union Olympic Games Gold 1964 Tokyo 200 m breaststroke Silver 1968 Mexico City 100 m breaststroke Silver 1972 Munich 100 m breaststroke Bronze 1968 Mexico City 200 m breaststroke Bronze 1972 Munich 200 m breaststroke European Championships Gold 1966 Utrecht 200 m breaststroke Gold 1970 Barcelona 100 m breaststroke Gold 1970 Barcelona 200 m breaststroke Silver 1966 Utrecht 4×100 m medley Silver 1970 Barcelona 4×100 m medley

Galina Prozumenshchikova (Russian: Галина Николаевна Прозуменщикова, Ukrainian: Галина Миколаївна Прозуменщикова);^[1] born 26 November 1948) is a Soviet breaststroke swimmer who also competed in medley relays. She won five Olympic medals in 1964, 1968 and 1972 and five European Championships medals in 1966 and 1970. Her first Olympic medal, the gold in 200 m breaststroke in 1964, was the first Olympic gold in swimming for the Soviet Union. In 1964–1966 she set five world records: four in 200 m and one in 100 m breaststroke events. Between 1963 and 1972 she won 15 national titles and set 27 national records.^[2][3]

Biography

Galina was born in Sevastopol, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She married twice and therefore changed her last name first to Stepanova^[3] and then to Ivannikova.

Her father, Nikolai Nikolayevich (1913–1991) was a submarine captain.^[4] Mother, Sofia Petrovna (1922–1987) was a nurse and took part in World War II. Galina started swimming in a club in 1959 and until 1966 competed for SKF Sevastopol. By the time of her first Olympics in 1964 she was won several national and international competitions and set national and world records in the 200 m breaststroke. (Her favorite discipline was 100 m breaststroke, but it became an Olympic event only in 1968.^[3]) However, she was operated for appendicitis in July, just before the games, and was not in her top form. She also had a strong rival, Svetlana Babanina, who set a world record in the 100 m breaststroke before the 1964 Olympics. Nevertheless, Prozumenshchikova won the 200 m event, setting a new Olympic record^[4] and winning the first Soviet Olympic gold in swimming. Babanina finished third.^[5]

In 1966, Prozumenshchikova enrolled to the faculty of journalism of the Moscow State University (MSU) and since then lived in Moscow.^[3] In 1969 she gave birth to a daughter, Irina, and was on the verge of retiring. However, she returned to competitions in 1970 and retired only in 1973. She graduated from MSU in 1976 and was writing sports columns for the major newspaper Izvestia. However, she soon left journalism,^[3] and between 1976 and 1980 worked as a sports functionary, and after 1980 as a swimming coach for children at CSKA.^[5]

In the 1970s she remarried, to Yuri Ivanovich Ivannikov (born 1950), an economist. They have a son, Grigory Yurievich (b. 1979).^[3][5]

Since 1991 she again competes in swimming and set at least 35 national records in the masters category.^[3]

Awards

• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1972)^[3][5][6]
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (1993)^[3][5]
• Medal "For Distinguished Labour" (twice)^[3][5]

References

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