Olga Nazarova


Olga Vladimirovna Nazarova is a Russian former athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She represented the Soviet Union. She won two Olympic gold medals in the 4 x 400 metres relay, in 1988 and 1992. Her 1988 split time of 47.8, remains one of the fastest relay splits of all-time. She also won World Championship gold and silver in the relay, and a 1988 Olympic bronze medal in the 400 metres.

Career

Nazarova competed for the Soviet Union at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, finishing eighth in the 400 metres final and winning a silver medal in the 4 x 400m relay, with 400m gold medallist Olga Bryzgina, Aelita Yurchenko and Mariya Pinigina. She went on to compete for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, winning the bronze medal in the 400 metres. She then joined with gold medalist Olga Bryzgina, 400m hurdles silver medalist Tatyana Ledovskaya and Mariya Pinigina to win gold in the 4 × 400 m relay. That USSR relay team set a new world record of 3:15.17 minutes which is still unbeaten.
Nazarova competed only in the relay at the 1991 World Championships, winning a gold medal, along with Bryzgina, Ledovskaya and Lyudmila Dzhigalova. She competed for the Commonwealth of Independent States at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, finishing fourth in the 400m final. In the 4 x 400 metres, she won the gold medal, along with Bryzgina, Dzhigalova and Yelena Ruzina.

International competitions

Note: The Soviet Union originally finished 2nd in the 4 × 400 m at the 1986 European Championships, before being disqualified for a lane infringement.