Competing under her maiden name of Mushta, Nadezhda Olizarenko made a
rapid improvement as a middle distance runner during the 1978 season.
Prior to that year, Nadezhda had an 800m personal best of 1min 59.76sec,
but this quickly improved in a number of steps including a 1min
58.09sec victory in Dortmund on 30 June, followed by 1min 57.6sec at
Vilnius on 20 July, and a further reduction to 1min 57.2sec at Podolsk
on 12 August. This was a mere prelude to the European Championships in
Prague on 31 August, where Nadezhda won the silver medal in another new
personal best of 1min 55.82sec, finishing a mere 0.02sec behind her
teammate Tatyana Providokhina. Three days later Nadezhda won another
silver medal as a member of the Soviet Union's second-placed 4 x 400m
relay team.
Shortly afterwards, Nadezhda married Soviet steeplechaser
Sergey Olizarenko, and she competed under her married surname during the
latter part of her career. In 1979, her major achievements in the 800m
were a win at the World University Games, and a second place at the
World Cup in Montreal. On 12 June 1980, at a meeting in Moscow,
Olizarenko set a new world record for 800m of 1min 54.85sec, defeating a
field which included the existing world record holder Tatyana
Kazankina. This made Nadezhda the favourite for the 800m title at the
Moscow Olympic Games on 27 July, and she did not disappoint, leading all
the way, and racing away from the field off the final bend (see photo above)
to win the gold medal. In the process she smashed her own world record
setting a new global mark of 1min 53.43sec. Not content with that
achievement, Olizarenko came out five days later and won the bronze
medal in the 1500m won by Kazankina. (Ron Casey)
Nadiya Olizarenko died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aged 63.
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|
|
Women's 800m. Final.
Olympic Games 1980
|
| |
| 1. Nadiya OLIZARENKO |
|
SOV |
|
1: 53.43 WR |
| 2. Olga MINEYEVA |
|
SOV |
|
1: 54.81 |
| 3. Tatyana PROVIDOKHINA |
|
SOV |
|
1: 55.46 |
|
|
|
Women's 1500m. Final.
Olympic Games 1980
|
| |
| 1. Tatyana KAZANKINA |
|
SOV |
|
3: 56.6 OR |
| 2. Christiane WARTENBERG |
|
GDR |
|
3: 57.8 |
| 3. Nadiya OLIZARENKO |
|
SOV |
|
3: 59.6 |
|
.
1986 European 800metres Champion.
Nadezhda Olizarenko was one of the star performers at the 1980 Olympic
Games in Moscow, where she won the gold medal in the 800m and a bronze
in the 1500m. Olizarenko did not compete during the following two years
and returned tentatively to the track in 1983, recording a best time
over 800m of 1min 58.16sec. She was back to her top form in 1984,
winning the 800m at the Olympic Day meet in Potsdam in a time of 1min
56.37sec, but unfortunately she was denied the opportunity of defending
her title at the following month's Olympic Games in Los Angeles, due to
the Soviet boycott. On 5 August, the day before the 800m final in Los
Angeles, Olizarenko and three teammates set a new world record of 7min
50.17sec for the 4 x 800m relay in a specially planned record attempt in
Moscow.
In 1985, Nadezhda was still producing quality performances,
but it seemed that she had lost her winning touch, finishing second in
the 800m at the European Indoor Championships; second in the national
championships; second in the European Cup; and third at the World Cup in
Canberra. It seemed a similar tale in 1986, when Olizarenko finished
only sixth at the Goodwill Games in Moscow on 6 July, and then third at
the Soviet national championships in Kiev 10 days later. However it was
a different story at the European Championships in Stuttgart on 28
August, where the 32-year-old Olizarenko fought off the challenges of
her younger opponents to win the gold medal (see photo above 28th. August 1986 .πhoto G.H. ©) in
1min 57.15sec. Nadezhda finished seventh at the following year's World
Championships in Rome, and her final appearance in a major international
championships was at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where suffering
from injury, she finished a disappointing last in her semi-final. (Ron
Casey)
In 1980 Olizarenko set a world record and her personal best over 800 metres with 1:53.43; this record stood until 1983, when it was bettered by Jarmila Kratochvílová.
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Women's 800m. Final.
European Athletics Championships 1986.
|
| |
| 1. Nadezdha OLIZARENKO |
|
URS |
|
1.57.15 |
| 2. Sigrun WODARS |
|
GDR |
|
1.57.42 |
| 3. Lyubov GURINA |
|
URS |
|
1.57.73 |
| 4. Gaby BUSSMANN |
|
FRG |
|
1.58.57 |
| 5. Milena STRNADOVA |
|
CZE |
|
1.58.89 |
| 6. Mitica JUNGHIATU |
|
ROM |
|
1.59.22 |
|
ANNUAL PROGRESS. 800 metres.
1988 1:56.0 Kharkov 04 JUL
1987 2:00.28 Roma 31 AUG
1987 2:00.28 Roma 29 AUG
1985 1:56.25 Leningrad 01 AUG
1984 1:56.09 Kyiv 22 JUN
1980 1:53.43 Moskva 27 JUL
1978 1:55.82 Praha 31 AUG