Mariya Savinova is a Russian athlete who was born August
13, 1985 in Chelyabinsk. She played badminton in her hometown until she was 15,
and this is how she was noticed by her first coach. She began running the
sprints, but then found that the 800 meter was her best event. In 2006, she
decided to switch coaches because she didn’t feel like she had improved with
her previous coach. In 2009, she won her first National Indoor Championship and
made it to the European Indoor Championship. At the European Championships, she
won the 800 meter race with a personal best of 1:58.10. In the summer of 2009,
in Cheboksary, she won the National Outdoor Championship in the 800 meter race
for the first time in her career with a time of 1:59.01. However, she placed 5th
in at the World Championship. In 2010, she won the National Indoor Title and
the World Indoors in Doha.
In 2010, she married Alexey Farnosov who trained in the same
group with Savinova. After their wedding ceremony, they decided to go to the
track and run because that’s where they spent most of their time. The next
summer, she won the European Team Championships in Stockhlom with a personal
best of 1:56.95. At the World Championship in Daegu, she earned the nickname “Bolt
in a skirt” because she was also smiling when she won and because she had the
slowest reaction times in the start of a race. She ran a time of 1:55.87 and
became a favorite as she made her way to the London Olympics. She ran a time of
1:56.19 at the 2012 Olympics, taking home her first Olympic gold medal.
"IAAF: Athlete
Profile for Mariya Savinova." Iaaf.org. International Association of
Athletics Federation, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/russia/mariya-savinova-231384#biography>.
"Detailed
Statistics for All-Access Pass Holders:." Profile of Mariya SAVINOVA.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.all-athletics.com/node/145580>.
"Mariya Savinova
Photos: Olympics Day 12 - Athletics." Zimbio. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr.
2014. <http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Mariya%2BSavinova/Olympics%2BDay%2B12%2BAthletics/tKtiBve0VC4>.
Wow that's such a fast time for the 800. She got noticed for badminton and ended up a track Olympian? That's crazy.
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