Lyudmila Shevtsova

Lyudmila Shevtsova

Shevtsova at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	Russian-Ukrainian
Born	26 November 1934 (1934-11-26) (age 89) Taman, Temryuksky District, Azov-Black Sea Krai, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Height	164 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country	Soviet Union
Sport	Middle-distance running
Club	Avanhard, Dnipropetrovsk
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1960 Rome 800 m European Championships 1954 Bern 800 m

Lyudmila Ivanovna Gurevitch (nee Shevtsova later Lysenko;^[1] born 26 November 1934) is a retired Russian-Ukrainian athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres. On 3 July 1960, she set a world record in this event at 2 min 4.3 seconds.^[2] She equaled this time while winning the 800 m gold at the 1960 Olympics two months later. Two Australians, Brenda Jones and Dixie Willis led the race. With 50–70 m left, Willis stepped on the curb and dropped out of competition, while Shevtsova gradually reached Jones and won in the last meters.^[3][4]

In 1954, Shevtsova finished second in the 800 m at the nationals and third at the European Championships. At the 1962 European Championships, she failed to reach the final. During her career, she won nine national titles: in the 400 m in 1955; in the 800 m in 1955–56, 1959, and 1961–62; and in the cross-country in 1960–62 and 1964. After retiring from competitions she coached athletics in Kyiv.^[3] She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1960.

Shevtsova first trained in artistic gymnastics, and changed to running only in 1951, after unexpectedly winning a cross-country race at the Dnipropetrovsk championships. She married twice and thus changed her last name to Lysenko and then to Gurevich. She has two sons from different marriages, Oleg (born 1957), and Vladimir. She lives in Kyiv with her second husband, an athletics coach.^[5]