Galina Zybina

Galina Ivanovna Zybina, a Soviet and later Russian athlete and coach, competed in the shot put across four Olympic Games: 1952, 1956, 1960, and 1964. She took gold, silver, seventh, and bronze in those respective years, and in 1952 also placed fourth in the javelin throw. From 1952 to 1956, she broke the world record eight times in a row and set 14 national records in the shot put. In 1953, she made history as the first woman to surpass 16 meters, with a throw of 16.20 m.

Zybina’s childhood was marked by severe hunger and cold during the World War II Siege of Leningrad, which killed her mother and brother; her father died at the front. Despite this, by 1950 she had risen to become a top Soviet thrower, earning a bronze in the javelin at the European championships.

Throughout her career as both competitor and coach, she emphasized technique over strength. She was left off the Soviet team before the 1968 Olympics due to her age and retired in 1969, even though she was still the second-best Soviet shot putter at the time. After retiring, she worked as an athletics coach in Värska.

Zybina married Yury Fyodorov, a Russian captain who commanded the cruiser Aurora from 1964 to 1985. The ship, famous for sparking the 1917 October Revolution, had become a museum ship by the 1960s. In 1959, she gave birth to a son, and her performance at the 1960 Olympics (seventh place) suffered as a result. She died on 10 August 2024, at age 93.