Lyudmila Bragina

Lyudmila Bragina

Lyudmila Bragina in 1972
Personal information
Birth name	Lyudmila Ivanovna Bragina
Born	24 July 1943 (1943-07-24) (age 81) Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	1500 m, 3000 m
Club	Dynamo Krasnodar
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	1500 m – 4:01.38 (1972) 3000 m – 8:27.12 (1976)
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1972 Munich 1500 m European Championships 1974 Rome 3000 m

Lyudmila Ivanovna Bragina (Russian: Людмила Ивановна Брагина, born 24 July 1943) is a retired Soviet and Russian middle distance runner. She competed for the Soviet Union in the 1500 m at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics; she won the event in 1972 and finished fifth in 1976. In July 1972 she set a new 1500 m world record of 4:06.9, at the Soviet championships, and then progressively improved it in round 1 (4:06.47), the semi-finals (4:05.07}, and the final (4:01.38), of the 1972 Olympics.^[1][2] The same year she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. She also set three world records in the 3000 m: 8:53.0 in 1972, 8:52.74 in 1974 and 8:27.12 in 1976.^[3] At the European Championships, Bragina won four silver medals: in the 3,000 m outdoors (1974), and in the 800 m (1970) and 1,500 m indoors (1971–72).^[1]

In 1960 Bragina started training in the high jump, and changed to running only in 1964. She had a career-threatening bout of pneumonia in 1966. After recovering she moved to the south of Russia, in Krasnodar,^[4] where she later worked as an athletics coach.^[1]