List of European Athletics Championships records
Statistics -- World records
Table:
Year

Athlete

Country

Gender

Event

Mark

1934

Matti Järvinen

Finland

Men

Javelin throw

76.66 m

1938

Claudia Testoni

Italy

Women

80 m hurdles

11.6 sec

1954

Vladimir Kuts

Soviet Union

Men

5000 metres

13:56.6 min

1954

Sándor Rozsnyói

Hungary

Men

3000 m steeplechase

8:49.6 min

1954

Mikhail Krivonosov

Soviet Union

Men

Hammer throw

63.34 m

1958

Sergei Popov

Soviet Union

Men

Marathon

2:15:17 hrs

1962

Salvatore Morale

Italy

Men

400 m hurdles

49.2 sec

1962

Maria Itkina

Soviet Union

Women

400 metres

53.4 sec

1962

Tamara Press

Soviet Union

Women

Shot put

18.55 m

1969

Nicole Duclos

France

Women

400 metres

51.7 sec (51.72)

1969

Colette Besson

France

Women

400 metres

51.7 sec (51.74)

1969

Jaroslava Jehličková

Czechoslovakia

Women

1500 metres

4:10.77 min

1969

Rosemary Stirling
Pat Lowe
Janet Simpson
Lillian Board

Great Britain

Women

4×400 metres relay

3:30.8 min (3:30.82)

1969

Bernadette Martin
Nicole Duclos
Eliane Jacq
Colette Besson

France

Women

4×400 metres relay

3:30.8 min (3:30.85)

1969

Nadezhda Chizhova

Soviet Union

Women

Shot put

20.10 m

1969

Nadezhda Chizhova

Soviet Union

Women

Shot put

20.43 m

1971

Karin Burneleit

East Germany

Women

1500 metres

4:09.62 min

1971

Rita Kühne
Ingelore Lohse
Helga Seidler
Monika Zehrt

East Germany

Women

4×400 metres relay

3:29.3 min

1971

Faina Melnik

Soviet Union

Men

Discus throw

64.22 m

1974

Riitta Salin

Finland

Women

400 metres

50.14 sec

Drawing on the provided table along with the passages listed at the end.

Respond to the question below: In what year did the athlete from the Soviet Union who held the record in the 5000 m race win the Olympic gold medal ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

Matti Henrikki Järvinen ( 18 February 1909 - 22 July 1985 ) was a Finnish javelin thrower . He won the Olympic gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics ahead of two other Finns , Matti Sippala and Eino Penttilä , with a throw of 72.71 metres . Four of his other five throws would also have been enough to take gold . The three Finns did not take off their tracksuit trousers during the event . Besides his Olympic gold , Järvinen is remembered for his numerous world records . From 1930 to 1936 , he broke the javelin throw world record a record ten times in a row . He also became the European champion in 1934 , setting a new world record with 76.66 m , and defended his title successfully in 1938 . In the 1936 Summer Olympics , Järvinen finished fifth . Järvinen continued throwing after World War II , recording a 71.70-metre throw in 1945 . Järvinen was the son of Verner Järvinen , an Olympic bronze medalist in discus throw . His brother Akilles Järvinen was a decathlon world record holder and two-time Olympic silver medalist . His other brother Kalle was a shot putter and also an Olympian .
Finland ( Finnish : Suomi [ ˈsuo̯mi ] ( listen ) ; Swedish : Finland [ ˈfɪ̌nland ] ( listen ) , Finland Swedish : [ ˈfinlɑnd ] ) , officially the Republic of Finland ( Finnish : Suomen tasavalta , Swedish : Republiken Finland ( listen to all ) ) , [ note 1 ] is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea , Gulf of Bothnia , and Gulf of Finland , between Sweden to the west , Russia to the east , Estonia to the south , and north-eastern Norway to the north . The capital and largest city is Helsinki . Other major cities are Espoo , Tampere , Vantaa , Oulu , Turku , Jyväskylä , Lahti and Kuopio . Finland 's population is 5.52 million as of July 2019 , the majority of whom live in the central and south of the country and speak Finnish , a Finnic language from the Uralic language family , unrelated to the Scandinavian languages . Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union . It is a parliamentary republic of 310 municipalities , and includes an autonomous region , the Åland Islands . Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area , which produces one third of the country 's GDP . Swedish is the second official language of Finland , which is mainly spoken in certain coastal areas and on Åland . A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church . Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended , approximately 9000 BC . Comb Ceramic culture introduced pottery 5200 BC and Corded Ware culture coincided with the start of agriculture between 3000 and 2500 BC . The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions .
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin , a spear about 2.5 m ( 8 ft 2 in ) in length , is thrown . The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area . Javelin throwing is an event of both the men 's decathlon and the women 's heptathlon .
Claudia Testoni ( 19 December 1915 - 17 July 1998 ) , was an Italian hurdler , sprinter and long jumper . She was European champion , in 1938 , on 80 metres hurdles . She was born in Bologna and died in Cagliari .
Italy ( Italian : Italia [ iˈtaːlja ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Italian Republic ( Italian : Repubblica Italiana [ reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna ] ) , is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands . Italy is located in south-central Europe , and it is also considered a part of Western Europe . The country covers a total area of 301,340 km2 ( 116,350 sq mi ) and shares land borders with France , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino . Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland ( Campione ) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian Sea ( Lampedusa ) . With around 60 million inhabitants , Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union . The capital and largest city is Rome ; other major cities are Milan , Naples , Turin , Palermo , Genoa , Bologna , Florence and Venice . Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean , Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures . In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout what is now modern-day Italy , the most predominant being the Indo-European Italic peoples who gave the peninsula its name , beginning from the classical era , Phoenicians and Carthaginians founded colonies mostly in insular Italy , Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia of Southern Italy , while Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy respectively . An Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC , which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People . The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula , eventually expanding and conquering parts of Europe , North Africa and Asia . By the first century BC , the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural , political and religious centre , inaugurating the Pax Romana , a period of more than 200 years during which Italy 's law , technology , economy , art , and literature developed . Italy remained the homeland of the Romans and the metropole of the empire , whose legacy can also be observed in the global distribution of culture , governments , Christianity and the Latin script .
80 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling ran by women until 1972 in international competitions . Since the 1972 Summer Olympics , the event has been permanently replaced by the 100 metre hurdles .
Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( Russian : Владимир Петрович Куц , Ukrainian : Володимир Петрович Куц , 7 February 1927 - 16 August 1975 ) was a Soviet long-distance runner . He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 Olympics , setting Olympic records in both events .
The Soviet Union , [ b ] officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR or СССР ) , [ c ] was a federal sovereign state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991 . Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics , [ d ] in practice its government and economy were highly centralized . The country was a one-party state , governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) . Other major urban centers were Leningrad , Kiev , Minsk , Tashkent , Alma-Ata , and Novosibirsk . It spanned over 10,000 kilometers ( 6,200 mi ) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometers ( 4,500 mi ) north to south . Its territory included much of Eastern Europe , as well as part of Northern Europe and all of Northern and Central Asia . It had five climate zones : tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The Soviet Union had its roots in the 1917 October Revolution , when the Bolsheviks , led by Vladimir Lenin , overthrew the Russian Provisional Government which had replaced the autocratic regime of Tsar Nicholas II during World War I . In 1922 , after a civil war ending in the Bolsheviks ' victory , the USSR was formed by a treaty which united the Russian , Transcaucasian , Ukrainian and Byelorussian republics . Following Lenin 's death in 1924 and a brief power struggle , Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s . Stalin formalized the Communist Party 's ideology of Marxism-Leninism and replaced the market economy with a command economy which led to a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization . During this period , rapid economic development resulted in dramatic improvements in the average standard of living , particularly in urban areas .
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run ( approximately 3.1 mi or 16,404 ft ) is a common long-distance running event in track and field . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics , run over 12.5 laps of a standard track . The same distance in road running is called a 5K run . The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women . Prior to 1996 , women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984 . The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men 's competition and since 1995 in women 's . The event is almost the same length as the dolichos race held at the Ancient Olympic Games , introduced in 720 BCE . While mainly run as an outdoor event , the 5000 m is sometimes run on an indoor track . The IAAF keeps official records for both outdoor and indoor 5000-metre track events .
Sándor Rozsnyói , Rosner ( 24 November 1930 - 2 September 2014 ) was a Hungarian athlete , who mainly competed in the 3,000-metre steeple chase . Born in Zalaegerszeg , he competed for Hungary at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne , Australia , where he won the silver medal in the men 's 3.000m steeplechase . Rozsnyói remained in Australia after the Olympics rather than return home to Hungary which had been invaded by the Soviet Union . Rozsnyói became a physical education teacher in New South Wales , teaching at Epping Boys High School , Cumberland High School and Model Farms High School , and was a coach with the Ryde-Hornsby Athletic Club . Rozsnyoi lived much of his life in Epping , NSW with his wife and sons Alex and Les . In 2007 he was awarded the International Fair Play Award for the sportsmanship he displayed when he chose not to challenge the outcome of his 1956 Olympic Steeplechase race .
Hungary ( Hungarian : Magyarország [ ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ ] ( listen ) ) is a country in Central Europe . Spanning 93,030 square kilometres ( 35,920 sq mi ) in the Carpathian Basin , it borders Slovakia to the north , Ukraine to the northeast , Romania to the east and southeast , Serbia to the south , Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest , and Austria to the west . With about 10 million inhabitants , Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union . The official language is Hungarian , which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world , and among the few non-Indo-European languages to be widely spoken in Europe . Hungary 's capital and largest city is Budapest ; other major urban areas include Debrecen , Szeged , Miskolc , Pécs and Győr . The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples , including Celts , Romans , Germanic tribes , Huns , West Slavs and the Avars . The foundations of the Hungarian state were established in the late ninth century CE by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin . His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000 , converting his realm to a Christian kingdom . By the 12th century , Hungary became a regional power , reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century . Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 , Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire ( 1541-1699 ) . It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century , and later joined Austria to form the Austro-Hungarian Empire , a major European power . The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I , and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary 's current borders , resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory , 58% of its population , and 32% of ethnic Hungarians .
The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field . It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres , which derives its name from the horse racing steeplechase .
Mikhail Petrovich Krivonosov ( Russian : Михаил Петрович Кривоносов , 1 May 1929 - 11 November 1994 ) was a Belarusian hammer thrower . He competed in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won a silver medal in 1956 , 18 cm behind the first place . He earned another silver medal at the 1958 European Championships , and won the European title in 1954 . In 1953 Krivonosov graduated from the Belarusian State University of Physical Training , and in 1971 defended a PhD in pedagogy there . He trained at Burevestnik in Minsk and competed internationally for the USSR throughout his career . He won the Soviet title in 1952 and 1954-58 and set six world records in 1954-56 . After retiring from competitions he had a long career as an athletics coach and prepared the Soviet hammer throwers for the 1968 and 1972 Olympics . In parallel he worked as a lecturer at his alma mater , where he served as pro-rector from 1976 until his death . Krivonosov had an elder sister Nina . Besides athletics he was an accomplished swimmer and cross-country skier and a lifelong fan of angling .
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions , along with the discus throw , shot put and javelin . The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name . It consists of a metal ball attached by a steel wire to a grip . The size of the ball varies between men 's and women 's competitions ( see Competition section below for details ) .
Sergei Konstantinovich Popov ( Russian : Сергей Константинович Попов , 21 September 1930 - 25 June 1995 ) was a Russian marathon runner . He won a gold medal at the 1958 European Championships setting a new world record at 2:15:17 ; this record stood for more than two years and remained the Soviet national record until 1970 . He also set a world record in Moscow , on June 15 , 1958 , for 30 kilometers , running 1:32:58.8 . Popov won the Soviet marathon title in 1957 , when he ran the world 's fastest marathon of the year in 2:19:50 in Moscow , 1958 and 1959 , and placed second in 1962 and third in 1963 . In 1959 , he set the course record at the Košice Peace Marathon , the third year in a row he ran the world 's fastest time . He finished fifth at the 1960 Summer Olympics when the winner , Ethiopia 's Abebe Bikila , broke Popov 's world record by less than a second .
The marathon is a long-distance race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres ( approximately 26 miles 385 yards ) , usually run as a road race . The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides , a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens , who reported the victory . The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy . There are also wheelchair divisions . The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896 , though the distance did not become standardized until 1921 . More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year , with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes , as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants .
Salvatore Tito Morale ( born 4 November 1938 in Teolo , Padua ) was an Italian athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metre hurdles . He won five medals , at senior level , at the International athletics competitions .
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event . The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women . On a standard outdoor track , 400 metres is the length of the inside lane , once around the stadium . Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the track . The hurdles are positioned and weighted so that they fall forward if bumped into with sufficient force , to prevent injury to the runners . Although there is no longer any penalty for knocking hurdles over , runners prefer to clear them cleanly , as touching them during the race slows runners down . The best male athletes can run the 400 m hurdles in a time of around 47 seconds , while the best female athletes achieve a time of around 53 seconds . The current men 's and women 's world record holders are Kevin Young with 46.78 seconds and Dalilah Muhammad with 52.16 seconds . Compared to the 400 metres run , the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer . The 400 m hurdles was held for both sexes at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics . The first championship for women came at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics - being held as a one-off due to the lack of a race at the 1980 Summer Olympics .
Maria ( also Mariya and Marina ) Leontievna Itkina ( Belarusian : Марыя Лявонцеўна Іткіна ; Russian : Мария Леонтьевна Иткина ; born 3 May 1932 ) is a retired Soviet runner who set multiple world records in various sprint events . She competed at the 1956 , 1960 , and 1964 Olympics and finished four times in fourth place . Domestically Itkina held 17 Soviet sprint titles .
The 400 metres , or 400 metre dash , is a sprinting event in track and field competitions . It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women . On a standard outdoor running track , it is one lap around the track . Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course . In many countries , athletes previously competed in the 440 yard dash ( 402.336 m ) - which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the 'quarter-mile ' - instead of the 400 m ( 437.445 yards ) , though this distance is now obsolete . Like other sprint disciplines , the 400 m involves the use of starting blocks . The runners take up position in the blocks on the 'ready ' command , adopt a more efficient starting posture which isometrically preloads their muscles on the 'set ' command , and stride forwards from the blocks upon hearing the starter 's pistol . The blocks allow the runners to begin more powerfully and thereby contribute to their overall sprint speed capability . Maximum sprint speed capability is a significant contributing factor to success in the event , but athletes also require substantial speed endurance and the ability to cope well with high amounts of lactic acid to sustain a fast speed over a whole lap . While considered to be predominantly an anaerobic event , there is some aerobic involvement and the degree of aerobic training required for 400 metre athletes is open to debate . The current men 's world record is held by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa , with a time of 43.03 seconds ; van Niekerk is also the Olympic champion . Steven Gardiner is the reigning World Champion .
Tamara Natanovna Press [ nb 1 ] ( born 10 May 1937 ) is a retired Soviet athlete who dominated the shot put and discus throw in the early 1960s . She won three gold and one silver medals at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and three European titles in 1958-1962 . Between 1959 and 1965 she set 11 world records : five in the shot put and six in the discus . Domestically , she held 16 national titles , nine in the shot put ( 1958-66 ) and seven in the discus ( 1960-66 ) . Her younger sister Irina Press was also a prominent track athlete , but mostly in the sprint events .
The shot put is a track and field event involving putting ( pushing rather than throwing ) a heavy spherical ball - the shot - as far as possible . The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896 , and women 's competition began in 1948 .
Nicole Duclos ( née Salavert ; born 15 August 1947 ) is a French former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres . She broke the world record for the event in 1969 , running 51.77 seconds to become European champion in 1969 . She also shared in a world record in the 4×400 metres relay . She represented France at the 1972 Summer Olympics and was a three-time national champion .
France ( French : [ fʁɑ̃s ] ( listen ) ) , officially the French Republic ( French : République française , pronounced [ ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ( listen ) ) , is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . [ XIII ] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . It is bordered by Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast , Switzerland and Italy to the east , and Andorra and Spain to the south . The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . The country 's 18 integral regions ( five of which are situated overseas ) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres ( 248,573 sq mi ) and a total population of 67.02 million ( as of July 2019 [ update ] ) . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban areas include Lyon , Marseille , Toulouse , Bordeaux , Lille and Nice . France , including its overseas territories , has the most number of time zones of any country , with a total of 12 . During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . Rome annexed the area in 51 BC , holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476 , who formed the Kingdom of Francia . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia , which became the Kingdom of France in 987 , emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , following its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337-1453 ) .
Colette Besson ( 7 April 1946 - 9 August 2005 ) was a French athlete , the surprise winner of the 400 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City .
Jaroslava Jehličková ( born 24 March 1942 ) is a Czech former middle-distance runner for Czechoslovakia . She was the first ever international champion in the women 's 1500 metres , winning the gold at the 1969 European Athletics Championships in a world record time of 4:10.77 minutes . She competed twice at the Summer Olympic Games ( 1968 and 1972 ) . During her career , she set personal bests of 2:04.7 for the 800 metres and 4:08.39 for the 1500 m .
Czechoslovakia , or Czecho-Slovakia ( /ˌtʃɛkoʊsloʊˈvækiə , -kə- , -slə- , -ˈvɑː-/ ; Czech and Slovak : Československo , Česko-Slovensko ) , was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918 , when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire , until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993 . From 1939 to 1945 , following its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany , the state did not de facto exist but its government-in-exile continued to operate . From 1948 to 1990 , Czechoslovakia was part of the Eastern Bloc with a command economy . Its economic status was formalized in membership of Comecon from 1949 and its defense status in the Warsaw Pact of May 1955 . A period of political liberalization in 1968 , known as the Prague Spring , was forcibly ended when the Soviet Union , assisted by several other Warsaw Pact countries , invaded Czechoslovakia . In 1989 , as Marxist-Leninist governments and socialism were ending all over Europe , Czechoslovaks peacefully deposed their government in the Velvet Revolution ; state price controls were removed after a period of preparation . In 1993 , Czechoslovakia split into the two sovereign states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia .
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run ( typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres ' ) is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics . The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983 . It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately ​15⁄16 miles . The demands of the race are similar to that of the 800 metres , but with a slightly higher emphasis on aerobic endurance and a slightly lower sprint speed requirement . The 1500 metre race is predominantly aerobic , but anaerobic conditioning is also required . Each lap run during the world-record race run by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1998 in Rome , Italy averaged just under 55 seconds ( or under 13.8 seconds per 100 metres ) . 1,500 metres is three and three-quarter laps around a 400-metre track . During the 1970s and 1980s this race was dominated by British runners , along with an occasional Finn , American , or New Zealander , but through the 1990s many African runners began to win Olympic medals in this race , especially runners from Kenya , Morocco and Algeria . In the Modern Olympic Games , the men 's 1,500-metre race has been contested from the beginning , and at every Olympic Games since . The first winner , in 1896 , was Edwin Flack of Australia , who also won the first gold medal in the 800-metre race . The women 's 1,500-metre race was first added to the Summer Olympics in 1972 , and the winner of the first gold medal was Lyudmila Bragina of the Soviet Union . During the Olympic Games of 1972 through 2008 , the women 's 1,500-metre race has been won by three Soviets plus one Russian , one Italian , one Romanian , one Briton , one Kenyan , and two Algerians .
Rosemary Olivia Wright ( née Stirling , born 11 December 1947 ) is a former British sprinter and middle-distance runner . She won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1969 European Championships , and a gold medal in the 800m at the 1970 Commonwealth Games . Her 800m best of 2:00.15 , stood as the Scottish record for 30 years ( 1972-2002 ) .
Patricia Barbara Lowe-Cropper MBE ( born 15 September 1943 ) is a British middle-distance runner .
Janet Mary Simpson ( 2 September 1944 - 14 March 2010 ) was a British athlete who competed in sprint events and the 400 metres . She competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo , Japan in the 4 x 100 metres relay , where she won the bronze medal with her team-mates Mary Rand , Daphne Arden and Dorothy Hyman . She emulated her mother , Violet Webb , who had won bronze in the same event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles . Simpson competed for England in the 1966 Commonwealth Games held in Kingston , Jamaica , in the 4 x 110 yards relay , where she won the silver medal with her team-mates Maureen Tranter , Daphne Slater and Jill Hall . She finished fourth in the 400 metres final at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico , missing the bronze medal by only 0.32 seconds . She also was a member of the Great Britain team that won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 m relay at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in Athens , Greece , setting a world record time of 3:30.8 minutes . Running the third leg , Janet ran the joint fastest time ( 52.1 ) of the British quartet and made up 15 metres on the leader , Eliane Jacq of France . The other members of that victorious team were Rosemary Stirling , Pat Lowe and Lillian Board . She retired from athletics in 1969 but made a comeback to compete in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich , helping the Great Britain relay squad finish fifth in the final of the 4 x 400 metres in British record time ( 3:28.75 ) . She later married the Swiss sprinter Philippe Clerc , 200 m champion at the 1969 European Athletics Championships . She died of a heart attack on 14 March 2010 at the age of 65 .
Lillian Barbara Board , MBE ( 13 December 1948 - 26 December 1970 ) was a British athlete . She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City , and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in Athens . Her career was cut short in 1970 when she developed the colorectal cancer that within months would claim her life .
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK or U.K. ) or Britain , [ note 11 ] is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland . Existing under its current name since 1921 , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north­eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland . Otherwise , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east , the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland . The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles ( 240,000 km2 ) . The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy . [ note 12 ] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 1952 , making her the world 's longest-serving current head of state . The United Kingdom 's capital and largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million . Other major cities include Birmingham , Manchester , Glasgow , Leeds and Liverpool . The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . Their capitals are London , Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast , respectively .
The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap . It is traditionally the final event of a track meet . At top class events , the first 500 metres is run in lanes . Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race ; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track . The slightly longer 4 × 440 yards relay was a formerly run British and American event , until metrication was completed in the 1970s . Relay race runners typically carry a relay baton which they must transfer between teammates . Runners have a 20 m box ( usually marked with blue lines ) in which to transfer the baton . The first transfer is made within the staggered lane lines ; for the second and third transfers , runners typically line up across the track despite the fact that runners are usually running in line on the inside of the track . This prevents confusion and collisions during transfer . Unlike the 4 × 100 m relay , runners in the 4 × 400 typically look back and grasp the baton from the incoming runner , due to the fatigue of the incoming runner , and the wider margins allowed by the longer distance of the race . Consequently , disqualification is rare . As runners have a running start , split times can not be compared to individual 400 m performances .
Bernadette Martin ( born 13 September 1951 at Grenoble ) is a former French athlete , who specialised in the 400 metres and 800 metres . She won the silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay during the 1969 European Athletics Championships alongside Éliane Jacq , Nicole Duclos and Colette Besson . The French team went faster than the world record in the discipline in 3:30.8 , but placed second and was tipped , in a photo finish , for first by the United Kingdom , who ran the same time . She participated in 1972 Summer Olympics , at Munich , and took fourth in the final of the 4 × 400 m ( 3:27.5 min : a new French record ) . Her personal bests were 53.3 seconds in the 400 m ( 1971 ) , and 2:02.49 minutes in the 800 m ( 1982 ) .
Éliane Jacq ( born 4 July 1948 at Brest and died on 1 March 2011 at Lorient ) was a French athlete who specialised in the 400 meters .
Nadezhda Vladimirovna Chizhova ( Russian : Надежда Владимировна Чижова , born 29 September 1945 ) is a retired Russian shot putter who won three Olympic medals and four European titles , and set seven new world records . She became the first woman to break both the 20 metre and 21 metre barriers . She retired after the 1976 Olympics and later worked as athletics coach in Saint Petersburg .
Karin Krebs ( née Burneleit , born 18 August 1943 ) is a retired East German middle-distance runner . She won the 800 metres race at the 1968 European Indoor Games , but failed to reach the 800 m Olympic final the same year . She then focused on the 1500 m event and won it at the 1971 European Championships , setting a new world record at 4:09.6 minutes . She placed fourth at the 1972 Olympics , and her world record was broken earlier in July 1972 by the future Olympic gold medalist Lyudmila Bragina . Krebs had her last intentional success in 1974 when she won the silver medal over 1500 m at the European Indoor Championships . Domestically Krebs won the East German 800 m title in 1968 outdoors and in 1966 and 1968 indoors . She also held the national 1500 m indoor title in 1971 and 1974 . While passing the gender test at the 1968 Olympics Krebs learned that she was three-month pregnant . After the 1972 Olympics she married her teammate , long-distance runner Joachim Krebs . Their daughter Nadja ( born 1976 ) also became a runner . Krebs was a horticulturist by profession , but worked for the East German Track and Field Association . After the Unification of Germany in 1990 she became a self-employed sports and event manager .
East Germany , officially the German Democratic Republic ( GDR ; German : Deutsche Demokratische Republik [ ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˈbliːk ] , DDR ) , was a state that existed from 1949 to 1990 , the period when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War . Commonly described as a communist state in English usage , it described itself as a socialist workers ' and peasants ' state . It consisted of territory that was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II - the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement , bounded on the east by the Oder-Neisse line . The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it ; as a result , West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR . The German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet zone , while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones . East Germany was a satellite state of the Soviet Union . Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948 , and the GDR began to function as a state on 7 October 1949 . However , Soviet forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War . Until 1989 , the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party ( SED ) , though other parties nominally participated in its alliance organisation , the National Front . The SED made the teaching of Marxism-Leninism and the Russian language compulsory in schools . The economy was centrally planned and increasingly state-owned . Prices of housing , basic goods and services were set by central government planners rather than rising and falling through supply and demand ; and were heavily subsidised .
Rita Kühne ( later Andrich then Schiemann ; born 5 January 1947 , in Dresden ) is a former East German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres . She competed for East Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich , Germany in the 4 × 400 metres where she won the gold medal with her team mates Dagmar Käsling , Helga Seidler and 400m gold medalist Monika Zehrt .
Helga Seidler ( née Fischer , born 5 August 1949 in Oberneuschönberg ) is a former East German athlete who mainly competed in the women 's 400 metres event . She competed for East Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich , Germany where she won the gold medal in the women 's 4 × 400 meters with her team mates Dagmar Käsling , Rita Kühne and Monika Zehrt .
Monika Zehrt ( later Landgraf , born 29 September 1952 ) is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 400 m. At the 1972 Olympics she won gold medals in the individual 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay , setting an Olympic and a world record , respectively . Zehrt also won relay golds at the 1971 European Championships and the 1970 and 1973 European Cup . During her career she set one world record in the 400 m and four in the 4 × 400 m. After retiring in 1974 , she earned a degree in external trade and a leading position at a furniture company . She married , but then divorced Jochen Landgraf , a 400 m hurdler .
Faina Grigorievna Melnik ( Russian : Фаина Григорьевна Велева-Мельник , Ukrainian : Фаїна Григорівна Мельник ( Faina Hryhorivna Melnyk ) ; 9 June 1945 - 16 December 2016 ) was a Soviet discus thrower , a 1972 Summer Olympics champion in the discus event . During her career she set 11 world records .
The discus throw ( pronunciation ) , also known as disc throw , is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc - called a discus - in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors . It is an ancient sport , as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue Discobolus . Although not part of the modern pentathlon , it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon , which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC , and is part of the modern decathlon .
Riitta Liisa Salin ( née Hagman , born 16 October 1950 ) is a retired Finnish sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres . She won the gold medal in 1974 European Athletics Championships with a new world record time 50.14 , which remains the Finnish record . At the 1976 Summer Olympics Salin finished seventh . Riitta Salin is the sister of former ice hockey player Matti Hagman .