Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (Russian: Раиса Петровна Сметанина; born 29 February 1952) is a Soviet, Komi and Russian cross-country skiing champion. She is the first woman in history to win ten Winter Olympic medals.
| Raisa Smetanina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Smetanina on a 2013 Russian coin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Russia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 February 1952 (age 72) Mokhcha, Komi ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ski club | VSS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 11 – (1982–1992) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starts | 52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 – (2nd in 1984) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editSmetanina 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
editAll results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]
Olympic Games
edit- 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
edit- 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
editSeason standings
edit| 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
edit- 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
edit- 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
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Panorama of the 1984 Sports Year (in Russian). Moscow: Physical Culture and Sports publisher. 1985. p. 38.
- ^ "SMETANINA Raissa". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
External links
edit- Raissa Smetanina at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Holmenkollen medalists – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)
- Holmenkollen winners since 1892 – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)