Name Liliya Nurutdinova | Role Olympic athlete | |
Olympic medals Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres | ||
Women's 800m - Grand Prix Final 1991
Liliya Foatovna Nurutdinova (Russian: Лилия Фоатовна Нурутдинова; born December 15, 1963) is a retired middle distance runner who represented the Soviet Union and the Unified Team.
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Her greatest achievement was the 1992 Olympic silver medal when she ran the 800 m in 1:55.99 min. She looked to have the race won but tiring she moved away from the curb on the stretch, a fatal mistake, and was then passed on the inside by fast finishing Ellen Van Langlen 30 metres from the line for the gold. She is also the 1991 World 800 metre champion where she held off Ana Quirot, Ella Kovacs, and Maria Mutola in a crazy finish which saw Kovacs fall, the women jammed together, and the top 4 separated by less than 2 tenths of a second. She was born in Naberezhnye Chelny, TASSR.
Doping ban
At the 1993 World Championships in Athletics Nurutdinova tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, and she was subsequently disqualified and handed a 4-year ban from sport. She retired from the sport immediately after.