Bondarchuk's greatest successes were in cross country running. She was the individual silver medallist at the 1980 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and took three team titles between 1977 and 1981. She also placed fourth individually in 1979 and took a team silver medal in 1985. This was a period of much success for the Soviet women, with Lyudmila Bragina, Yelena Sipatova, Giana Romanova and Svetlana Ulmasova being other leading Soviet athletes of the time.