Raisa Smetanina

Raisa Smetanina
Smetanina on a 2013 Russian coin
Country Russia
Born (1952-02-29) 29 February 1952
Mokhcha, Izhemsky District, Komi ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Ski clubVSS
World Cup career
Seasons11 – (19821992)
Indiv. starts52
Indiv. podiums16
Indiv. wins3
Team starts10
Team podiums9
Team wins3
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 1984)
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Unified Team
Olympic Games
1992 Albertville 4 × 5 km relay
Representing Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1976 Innsbruck 10 km
1976 Innsbruck 4 × 5 km relay
1980 Lake Placid 5 km
1976 Innsbruck 5 km
1980 Lake Placid 4 × 5 km relay
1984 Sarajevo 10 km
1984 Sarajevo 20 km
1988 Calgary 10 km classical
1988 Calgary 20 km freestyle
World Championships
1974 Falun 4 × 5 km relay
1982 Oslo 20 km
1985 Seefeld 4 × 5 km relay
1991 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
1978 Lahti 10 km
1982 Oslo 4 × 5 km relay
1989 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay
1974 Falun 5 km
1978 Lahti 5 km
1978 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay
1980 Falun 20 km

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (Russian: Раиса Петровна Сметанина; born 29 February 1952) is a Komi cross-country skiing champion, representing the Soviet Union and later the Unified Team at the Winter Olympic games. She is the first woman in history to win ten Winter Olympic medals.

Career

Smetanina took part in five Olympics, representing the Soviet team four times and the Unified Team once. In particular, Smetanina won two gold and one silver medals at the 1976 Winter Olympics, becoming the most successful athlete there, along with Rosi Mittermaier of West Germany.[1]

In the 1992 Winter Olympics, at the age of 39, Smetanina won a further gold medal competing for the Unified Team in the 4 × 5 km relay, becoming the first woman to win ten Winter Olympic medals and at that time the oldest woman to win a Winter Olympic gold.

Smetanina also had successes at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, winning four golds (20 km (1982), and 4 × 5 km relay (1974, 1985, and 1991), three silvers (10 km (1978), and 4 × 5 km relay (1982, 1989)), and four bronzes (4 × 5 km relay (1978), 5 km (1974, 1978), and 20 km (1980)). She also won three times at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, once in the 10 km (1975) and twice in the 5 km (1975 and 1979).

In 1979 Smetanina received the Holmenkollen Medal (shared with Erik Håker and Ingemar Stenmark).[1] She was also awarded Order of Friendship of Peoples (1984).[2]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]

Olympic Games

  • 10 medals – (4 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   20 km   30 km   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1976 23 Silver Gold Gold
1980 27 Gold 4 Silver
1984 31 11 Silver Silver 4
1988 35 10 Silver Bronze
1992 39 4 Gold

World Championships

  • 11 medals – (4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km 
 classical 
 10 km 
 freestyle 
 15 km   20 km   30 km   4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1974 21 Bronze Gold
1978 25 Bronze Silver 5 Bronze
1980 27 Bronze
1982 29 15 Gold Silver
1985 32 4 7 Gold
1987 34 4 9
1989 36 5 4 Silver
1991 38 11 Gold

World Cup

Season standings

 Season   Age  Overall
1982 30 21
1983 31 8
1984 32
1985 33 8
1986 34 14
1987 35 10
1988 36 6
1989 37 11
1990 38 13
1991 39 14
1992 40 18

Individual podiums

  • 3 victories
  • 16 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1981–82 26 February 1982 Oslo, Norway 20 km Individual World Championships[1] 1st
2  1982–83  5 March 1983 Lahti, Finland 5 km Individual World Cup 2nd
3  1983–84  9 February 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 10 km Individual Olympic Games[1] 2nd
4 18 February 1984 20 km Individual Olympic Games[1] 2nd
5 25 February 1984 Falun, Sweden 10 km Individual World Cup 1st
6 3 March 1984 Lahti, Finland 5 km Individual World Cup 2nd
7 8 March 1984 Oslo, Norway 20 km Individual World Cup 3rd
8 24 March 1984 Murmansk, Soviet Union 10 km Individual World Cup 2nd
9 1984–85 23 February 1985 Syktyvkar, Soviet Union 20 km Individual World Cup 1st
10  1985–86  15 February 1986 Oberstdorf, West Germany 20 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
11 22 February 1986 Kavgolovo, Soviet Union 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
12  1986–87  21 March 1987 Oslo, Norway 20 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
13  1987–88  19 December 1987 Reit im Winkl, West Germany 5 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
14 14 February 1988 Calgary, Canada 10 km Individual C Olympic Games[1] 2nd
15 25 February 1988 20 km Individual F Olympic Games[1] 3rd
16  1989–90  14 January 1990 Moscow, Soviet Union 7.5 km Individual C World Cup 2nd

Team podiums

  • 3 victories
  • 9 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1  1981–82  24 February 1982 Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay World Championships[1] 2nd Lyadova / Zabolotskaya / Kulakova
2  1983–84  26 February 1984 Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay World Cup 3rd Markashanskaya / Zimyatova / Burlakova
3 1984–85 22 January 1985 Seefeld, Austria 4 × 5 km Relay World Championships[1] 1st Tikhonova / Vasilchenko / Reztsova
4  1988–89  22 February 1989 Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 2nd Shamshurina / Tikhonova / Välbe
5 12 March 1989 Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Lazutina / Tikhonova / Välbe
6  1989–90  4 March 1990 Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Nageykina / Yegorova / Lazutina
7 1990–91 15 February 1991 Val di Fiemme, Italy 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 1st Yegorova / Tikhonova / Välbe
8 15 March 1991 Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Nageykina / Tikhonova / Välbe
9 1991–92 18 February 1992 Albertville, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F Olympic Games[1] 1st Välbe / Lazutina / Yegorova

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Raisa Smetanina". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  2. ^ Panorama of the 1984 Sports Year (in Russian). Moscow: Physical Culture and Sports publisher. 1985. p. 38.
  3. ^ "SMETANINA Raissa". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 22 December 2019.