Tatyana Zelentsova
Zelentsova in 2018
Personal information
Full nameTatyana Petrovna Zelentsova
CitizenshipRussian
Born (1948-08-05) 5 August 1948 (age 75)
Novorossiysk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event400 m hurdles
Achievements and titles
Personal best54.89 s (1978)
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1978 Prague 400 m hurdles

Tatyana Petrovna Zelentsova (Russian: Татьяна Петровна Зеленцова; born 5 August 1948) is a former Soviet Russian hurdler. She set two world records in the women's 400 metres hurdles and won the European Championship in 1978. After her athletic career she remained active in the sport as a coach.

Biography

Zelentsova was born in Novorossiysk on 5 August 1948.[1][2]: 614  Early in her career, Zelentsova competed mostly in the 100 metres hurdles, an event in which she did not reach the international top level; when the women's 400 metres hurdles became a mainstream event in the mid-1970s, she switched to the new event and adapted to it rapidly.[1][3] In 1976 the women's 400 metres hurdles were contested at the Soviet national championships for the first time; Zelentsova won.[4] She was then sidelined by kidney problems, which required hospitalization and threatened her career; she recovered and returned in top shape.[1][3] Two weeks before the 1978 European Championships Zelentsova broke the world record in Podolsk, running 55.31.[2]: 291  At the European Championships in Prague she broke the record again, winning in 54.89; the silver medalist, Silvia Hollmann of West Germany, was also under the previous world record.[2]: 291 

Between 1979 and 1983 Zelentsova worked as a coach in Tashkent while continuing her own athletic career.[1] She won the semi-final at the 1979 European Cup,[5] then placed third at the 1979 Soviet Spartakiad; the winner, Marina Makeyeva, broke her world record.[6] Zelentsova's students in Tashkent included relay world champion Sergey Lovachov.[1]

Zelentsova moved to the United States in 1989, settling in Jonesboro, Arkansas with Bill Bell, the brother of champion vaulter Earl Bell.[1][7] She continued coaching in America; her pupils in Arkansas have included LaVonna Martin, who won silver in the 100 metres hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics, as well as Russian runners Ekaterina Kostetskaya and Anastasiya Kapachinskaya.[1][7][8]

National titles

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1978 European Championships Prague, Czechoslovakia 1st 400 m hurdles 54.89
1979 Spartakiad Moscow, Russia 3rd 400 m hurdles 55.64
European Cup semi-final Cwmbran, United Kingdom 1st 400 m hurdles 56.87

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Nastenko, Georgiy (6 June 2010). Зеленцова приобщила к бегу Алсу и сотни малышей (in Russian). trud.ru. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre. "IAAF World Records Progression" (PDF) (2015 ed.). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Lapin, Evgeniy. Неожиданно в гости Татьяна Зеленцова: В Америке не хватает только Новороссийска.. (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2009.
  4. ^ "Soviet Championships". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. ^ European Cup Semi-Final. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-11-05.
  6. ^ Siukonen, Markku; et al. (1980). Urheilutieto 5 (in Finnish). Oy Scandia Kirjat Ab. p. 314. ISBN 951-9466-20-7.
  7. ^ a b Татьяна Зеленцова: у Капачинской хватит таланта и здоровья одновременно и одинаково успешно бегать три дистанции – 200 м, 400 м и 400 м с барьерами (in Russian). allsportinfo.ru. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  8. ^ Dyachkova, Elena. "Focus on Athletes - Ekaterina Kostetskaya". International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Archived from the original on 7 August 2012.
Records Preceded byKrystyna Kacperczyk Women's 400 metres hurdles world record holder 19 August 1978 – 27 July 1979 Succeeded byMarina Makeyeva
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