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Irina Privalova had arguably her best year in 1994, producing a range of
fast times and winning a number of championship medals. In the indoor
season, at Moscow on 1 February, she broke her own 50m world record,
setting a new time of 6.03sec. In the outdoor season, Privalova
produced a number of fine performances in the 100m, including the
season's best time of 10.77sec at Lausanne on 6 July, which moved her to
third on the all-time world list. Later that month she competed at the
third Goodwill Games in St Petersburg, where she finished second in
both the 100m and 200m, narrowly beaten on both occasions by Gwen
Torrence (USA).
Competing at the 1994 European Championships at
Helsinki in August (see photo above), Privalova was a far
different athlete to the one who had finished 6th in the 100m four years
earlier in Split. She easily won the 100m in 11.02sec on 8 August, and
then followed that three days later by winning the 200m in 22.32sec.
Running the anchor leg for Russia in the 4 x 100m relay, Privalova
gained several metres on the leading German team, but just failed to
catch the German runner at the tape, and Russia had to be content with
the silver medal.
The other major championships in 1994 was the World
Cup held in London. Once again Privalova starred in the sprints,
contesting not only the 100m and 200m, but the 400m as well. Competing
on three consecutive days, she finished second to Merlene Ottey
(Jamaica) in the 200m on 9 September in 22.51sec, won the 100m the
following day in 11.32sec, and then, in the 400m, a relatively new event
for her, Privalova won the gold medal in 50.62sec, from a field which
included reigning world champion, Jearl Miles (USA). (Ron Casey)
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