Terpene

Galina Kulakova
Kulakova at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Country Soviet Union
Full nameGalina Alexeyevna Kulakova
Born (1942-04-29) 29 April 1942 (age 82)
Logachi, Udmurtia, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Ski clubTrud Prokofyevsk
Trud Izhevsk
World Cup career
Seasons1 – (1982)
Starts3
Podiums0
Overall titles0 – (22nd in 1982)

Galina Alexeyevna Kulakova (Russian: Галина Алексеевна Кулакова, born 29 April 1942) is a Soviet-Russian former cross-country skier, arguably the best skier on distances shorter than 10 km in the early 1970s. She won four Olympic golds, two individual in 1972 and two relay golds in 1972 and 1976. She was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Winter Olympics, along with Ard Schenk of the Netherlands. Competing in the World Championships, she won three individual golds, two in 1974 and one in 1970, and also two relay golds in those years. Kulakova also won the 10 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1970 and 1979. Galina Kulakova was also 39 times Champion of the USSR between 1969 and 1981.[1]

For her achievements she was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Badge of Honour. She was also awarded the silver Olympic Order in 1984 by the International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch. Galina Kulakova ended her sports career in 1982.

Drug controversy[edit]

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Kulakova finished third in the 5 km event, but was disqualified due to a positive test for banned substance ephedrine. She claimed that this was a result of using the nasal spray that contained the substance. Both the International Ski Federation and the International Olympic Committee allowed her to compete in the 10 km and the 4 × 5 km relay.[1]

Cross-country skiing results[edit]

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[2]

Olympic Games[edit]

  • 8 medals – (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   3/4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1968 25 Silver 6 Bronze
1972 29 Gold Gold Gold
1976 33 DSQ Bronze Gold
1980 37 6 5 Silver

World Championships[edit]

  • 10 medals – (5 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   20 km   3/4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1970 27 Gold Bronze Gold
1974 31 Gold Gold Gold
1978 35 4 4 Silver Bronze
1980 37 Silver
1982 39 13 10 5 Silver

World Cup[edit]

Season standings[edit]

 Season   Age  Overall
1982 39 22

Team podiums[edit]

  • 1 podium
No Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 1981–82 24 February 1982 Norway Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay World Championships[1] 2nd Lyadova / Zabolotskaya / Smetanina

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Galina Kulakova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011.
  2. ^ "KULAKOVA Galina". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 23 December 2019.

External links[edit]

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