Vera Krepkina

Vera Krepkina

Vera Krepkina (right) at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Born	16 April 1933 (1933-04-16) (age 91) Kotelnich, Russia
Height	1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprint, long jump
Club	Lokomotiv Vologda Lokomotiv Kiev
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 11.3 (1958) LJ – 6.37 m (1960)
Medal record Representing Soviet Union Olympic Games 1960 Rome Long jump European Championships 1954 Bern 4×100 m relay 1958 Stockholm 4×100 m relay 1958 Stockholm 100 m

Vera Samuilovna Krepkina (later Kalashnikova, Russian: Вера Самуиловна Крепкина (Калашникова); born 16 April 1933) is a retired Russian track athlete who competed for the Soviet Union at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics. At all these Olympics she finished fourth in the 4×100 m relay and was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m sprint. In 1960 she also took part in the long jump and won a surprise gold medal with an Olympic record of 6.37 m, ahead of the defending champion Elżbieta Krzesińska and the world record holder Hildrun Claus.

At the European Championships she a won gold medals in the 4×100 m relay in 1954 and 1958 and finished second in the 100 m in 1958. She was a member of the Soviet team that set a world record in the 4×100 m relay in 1956, and she tied the world record (11.3 seconds) in the 100 meter dash in 1958. During her career Krepkina won eight Soviet titles: 100 m in 1952, 1957 and 1958; 200 m in 1952; 4×100 m relay in 1952, 1960 and 1965; and 4×200 m relay in 1952. In retirement she worked as a children's athletics coach in Ukraine.