Margarita Ponomaryova
Personal information | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Margarita Anatolyevna Ponomaryova | |||||||||||
Born | 19 June 1963 (1963-06-19) Balkhash, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||
Died | 16 September 2021(2021-09-16) (aged 58) | |||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||
Country | ![]() | |||||||||||
Sport | Women's athletics | |||||||||||
Medal record
|
Margarita Anatolyevna Ponomaryova (Russian: Маргарита Хромова-Пономарева; 19 June 1963 – 16 September 2021), also known as Margarita Khromova,[1] was a hurdler from Russia, best known for setting the world record in the women's 400 metres hurdles in 1984 with 53.58 secs.
Ponomaryova was known by her married name of Khromova from 1985 to 1989, before reverting to her maiden name from 1990 onward.
Career
Ponomaryova was born in Balkhash, Kazakh SSR in the former Soviet Union. She began her international career by winning two medals at the 1981 European Junior Championships.
In 1984, she made a dramatic improvement in the 400 metres hurdles to break the world record with 53.58 secs on 22 June in Kiev, to become the first woman to run below 54 seconds for the event. She was prevented from competing in that years Los Angeles Olympics due to the Soviet boycott.
1984 proved to be the only year where Ponomaryova would be the world's number one 400 m hurdler, however her international career would continue for another decade. In 1985, now competing as Margarita Khromova, she finished sixth in the World Cup in Canberra. In 1986, she reached the European Championship final in Stuttgart, placing eighth. The following year she was a semi-finalist at the World Championships in Rome, narrowly missing the final.
Having failed to make the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she won her biggest individual title when winning at the 1989 World Student Games (Universiade). In 1990, (as Margarita Ponomaryova), she finished fifth in the European Championship final in Split. She won the 1991 European Cup ahead of Sally Gunnell, before finishing eighth later that year in the World Championship final in Tokyo.
Ponomaryova represented the Unified team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. In the semi-finals she ran 53.98 sec, to qualify for the final as the third fastest. However, in the final she only managed 54.83 to finish sixth. At the following years World Championships in Stuttgart, she reached her peak running 53.48 sec to win the bronze medal. This was her first (and only) individual medal at Olympic or World Championship level. The race was won by Sally Gunnell in a then world record of 52.74. Ponomaryova also won a silver medal in the 4x400 metres relay.
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing ![]() | |||||
1981 | European Junior Championships | Utrecht, Netherlands | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 57.45 |
2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:31.41 | |||
1984 | Friendship Games | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 54.65 |
1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 6th | 400 m hurdles | 56.90 |
1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 4th | 400 m hurdles | 55.08 |
European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 8th | 400 m hurdles | 55.56 | |
1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | semi-final | 400 m hurdles | 54.86 |
1989 | Universiade | Duisburg, Germany | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 57.03 |
3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:28.60 | |||
1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 55.22 |
1991 | World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:27.95 |
European Cup | Frankfurt, Germany | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 54.42 | |
World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 8th | 400 m hurdles | 55.27 | |
Grand Prix Final | Barcelona, Spain | 5th | 400 m hurdles | ||
Representing ![]() | |||||
1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 6th | 400 m hurdles | 54.83 |
World Cup | Havana, Cuba | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 56.46 | |
Representing ![]() | |||||
1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 53.48 |
2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:18.38 | |||
Grand Prix Final | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 400 m hurdles |
References
- Margarita Ponomaryova at World Athletics
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Margarita Ponomaryova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
Records | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Women's 400 m hurdles world record holder 22 June 1984 – 22 September 1985 | Succeeded by |
Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by | Women's 400 m hurdles best year performance 1984 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- 1981: Anna Kastyetskaya (URS)
- 1983: Yekaterina Fesenko (URS)
- 1985: Margarita Novitskaite (URS)
- 1987: Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR)
- 1989: Margarita Khromova (URS)
- 1991: Gretha Tromp (NED)
- 1993–1995: Heike Meißner (GER)
- 1997: Tatyana Tereshchuk (UKR)
- 1999: Daimí Pernía (CUB)
- 2001: Tasha Danvers (GBR)
- 2003: Maren Schott (GER)
- 2005: Marina Shiyan (RUS)
- 2007: Tatyana Azarova (KAZ)
- 2009: Vania Stambolova (BUL)
- 2011: Hanna Yaroshchuk (UKR)
- 2013: Hanna Titimets (UKR)
- 2015: Joanna Linkiewicz (POL)
- 2017–2019: Ayomide Folorunso (ITA)
- 2023: Alice Muraro (ITA)