Lyudmila Kondratyeva

Kondratyeva, originally a pentathlete, was the surprise winner of the 200 m at the 1978 European Championships, where she also won a gold in the 4 x 100 m relay event.

Now one of the medal favourites for the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow, she also ran a non-recognised World Record just before the Olympics. The final was a close race, with the first 5 finishing within 1 tenth of a second. A photo finish showed that Kondratyeva had beaten Marlies Göhr of East Germany by just 0.01 seconds. Unfortunately, Kondratyeva pulled her hamstring at the finish, thereby not allowing her to run the 200 m or the 4 x 100 m relay.

Unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics due to the boycott by the Communist Bloc, Kondratyeva could not defend her Olympic title. She retired after that season and married Yuri Sedykh, twofold Olympic champion in the hammer throw, although they would later divorce.

In 1985, Kondratyeva was reported to have been found dead at a Malibu, California, USA beach, but it was another woman with the same name.