Nina Ponomaryova, Russian discus thrower and the first Soviet Olympic champion, Died at 87

  Sports

Nina Apollonovna Ponomaryova was born on April 27, 1929, and died on August 19, 2016.

She was a Russian discus thrower and the first Soviet Olympic champion.

She became interested in athletics in 1947 when she entered the Physical Training Faculty of the Stavropol Pedagogical Institute.

Her initial official performance was in 1948 at the Stavropol Krai Championships, where she set a new regional record at 30.53 m.

Three years after training, she became one of the leading Soviet athletes.

During 1949, Nina finished third at the USSR Championships.

During that period an experienced coach Dmitry Markov began to train her.

During 1951, she became the Soviet champion, she repeated this success in 1952–1956, 1958 and 1959.

Nina Ponomaryova passed away at 87 years old.