Childhood and youth
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Masterkova was born in the Siberian city of Achinsk on January 17, 1968 into a family that had nothing to do with athletics or other sports.
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Svetlana Masterkova
The childhood biography of the future champion is connected with the divorce of her parents and moving to her grandparents’ house, where at that time her mother’s 3 sisters lived. Despite the fact that the girl was surrounded by a lot of people, there was no one to raise her: young aunts went on dates, and her mother worked as a cook in a local canteen from morning to evening.
During her school years, Sveta did not think about the future and did not dream of any champion career. She got into the athletics section by chance at the invitation of coach Natalya Nikolaevna Shakurova, who was conducting selections among junior school students.
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Svetlana Masterkova and her mother
Masterkova came to her first lesson completely unprepared, since her relatives did not have money for sports shoes and a training suit. This circumstance upset the girl, and she did not show up for the next training session. The far-sighted mentor did not want to abandon her potentially talented ward and convinced the grandmother to allocate the necessary funds.
Years later, in an interview, the runner said that at her debut competition she was only slightly short of the finish line and, having missed the victory, was jealous of her rival, who received a beautiful doll as a reward.
The long-awaited toy was never given, and the incentive to stay in the sport was the 3rd youth category in athletics and the respect of peers and teachers. In addition, relations at the stadium developed successfully, and soon Svetlana became the heroine of local newspapers.
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Svetlana Masterkova
New achievements appeared after moving to the section of Anatoly Volkov, who recommended Masterkova to take up running professionally and continue training in one of the Moscow schools. This decision was also supported by the athlete’s other mentor, Arkady Rosenberg, who worked with her in 1986-1987.
Parting with her family was difficult, since Sveta saw her mother, who moved to Krasnoyarsk, only during competitions. However, concern for the future fate of their daughter and granddaughter forced the relatives to follow the advice of their mentor and send the young athlete to the capital.
Athletics
When Masterkova arrived in Moscow, she had won the All-Union Youth Games in the 800-meter distance and the title of three-time USSR champion among girls under 18 years of age. With such results, the girl began training under the guidance of honored specialists Svetlana Pleskach-Styrkina and Yakov Emelyanov and soon reached her first peak, winning the 800-meter distance at the last USSR national championship in 1991.
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Runner Svetlana Masterkova
Then there was an unsuccessful world championship in Tokyo, where Masterkova became eighth, losing to Liliya Nurutdinova, Anya Fidelia Kirot, Ella Kovacs and other eminent rivals.
In her youth, in parallel with her professional performances, Svetlana worked as a physical education instructor in the capital’s council of the Labor Reserves society and was involved in monitoring the conduct of classes for children in various sports in educational institutions in Moscow.
Job responsibilities did not prevent the runner from improving her own standards and preparing for national and international competitions. True, after the 1993 Russian Championship, Masterkova was forced to interrupt training due to injury, and the World Championships in the German city of Stuttgart took place without her.
Svetlana Masterkova - World record at a distance of 1000 meters
After recovery, which took 3 years, Svetlana demonstrated a number of successful races at prestigious athletics tournaments and entered the history of world sports as a multiple winner of gold, silver and bronze medals.
The most successful year in the athlete’s career was 1996, which began with a double victory at distances of 800 and 1500 meters at the Russian Championships in St. Petersburg. Then Svetlana climbed to the honorary podium of the championship and the European Cup three times in the long sprint and, as a result, by the end of July she reached the peak of physical fitness, which allowed her to fight for high positions at the main tournament of the 4th anniversary.
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Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova
As a result, Masterkova easily overcame the qualifying rounds at competitions in Atlanta, America, and became a two-time Olympic champion in athletics in the crown disciplines of 800 and 1500 meters.
That same year, the Russian woman, who set a world record in the 1 km run, covering the distance in 2 minutes 28.29 seconds and demonstrating an unsurpassed result at a distance of a mile, was recognized as the best athlete of the year and received the nickname Queen of Athletics.
Of course, Svetlana did not intend to stop there, but in the following seasons she had to miss several international starts due to Achilles tendon injuries and, for the same reason, refused to participate in the qualifying races at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Biography[ | ]
Born on January 17, 1968 in the city of Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, USSR.
She trained under the guidance of Svetlana Pleskach-Styrkina[1] and Honored Trainer of the USSR Ya. I. Elyanov[2].
She began her sports career as an 800-meter runner. At this distance, in 1991, she won the last USSR championship in history and won a ticket to the world championship. At the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo she took 8th place.
There were a few small successes throughout 1992 and 1993, such as silver at the 1993 Winter World Championships, but she was forced to miss most of those two seasons due to injury. She did not make it to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. She interrupted her sports career for the next two seasons. In 1994, she married the famous cyclist Asyat Saitov and moved to Spain, where he was then competing. She devoted 1994 and 1995 to family life, the birth and upbringing of her daughter Anastasia, as well as healing her injuries.
In 1996 she returned to big-time sports. The return turned out to be triumphant - she decided to compete both at a distance of 800 meters and at a distance of one and a half kilometers, and won the Russian championship at both distances, gaining the right to start in them at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.
At the Olympic 800-meter race, the main favorites were the famous athletes Maria Mutola from Mozambique and Cuban Ana Fidelia Quirot, but from the first meters she led the final race and led until the finish, leaving her famous rivals behind. Even more sensational was her victory at the “unusual” 1500-meter distance, which brought her the status of a two-time Olympic champion.
At the end of 1996, she was named the best athlete of the year in Russia.
The following year, at the World Championships in Athens, she again competed in two distances, but old injuries made themselves felt - in the semi-final race of 1500 meters she was forced to retire due to pain in the Achilles tendon.
However, then the athlete again managed to reach her peak form; in 1998 she won the European Championships in Budapest at one and a half kilometers, and at the 1999 world championship in Seville she won two medals - gold in the 1500 meters and bronze in the 800 meters.
These were her last major successes; she participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but after the qualifying races she withdrew due to injury. In 2003, she announced her retirement from her sports career.
Speaks English and Spanish. Graduated from the Moscow State Humanitarian University named after M. A. Sholokhov.
In April 2012, at the Moscow Pedagogical State University she defended her dissertation for the academic degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences.
Since 2003, he has worked as a sports television commentator for NTV+. Takes part in various television shows.
In the summer of 2011, she took up the post of director of the Moscow Children's Sports Palace. In September, a conflict broke out between her and the Russian Climbing Federation. At the direction of Masterkova, the palace’s climbing walls were closed, and the President of the Federation, in an open letter, called for the dismissal of the former athlete[3].
Member of the United Russia party, since 2012 - deputy of the Council of Deputies of the Tagansky municipal district, Moscow (as a self-nominated candidate).
In 2020, she took part in the musical TV show “Mask” in the image of Cloud.
Politics and social activities
Having completed her professional career in 2003, Masterkova could not part with the sport and became a television commentator for broadcasts in Russia. In addition, the Olympic champion took up education: she received a diploma from the Moscow Humanitarian University named after M. A. Sholokhov and defended her Ph.D. thesis in history at the state pedagogical university of the capital.
In 2011, Svetlana was invited to the post of head of the Children's Sports Palace, where a conflict soon erupted over the closure of one of the capital's largest climbing walls. Without explaining the reasons, the athlete fired the staff of the climbers’ training base and deprived the athletes of the only 15-meter track in Russia, located on the territory of the complex entrusted to her.
The Climbing Federation criticized Masterkova and recalled her participation in dubious television shows and revealing photos in a swimsuit. This did not help “reach out” to Svetlana, who left her position to join the United Russia party and run for deputy of local government in Moscow.
Personal life
Masterkova’s first and only husband in 1994 was cyclist Asyat Saitov. The lovers settled in Spain and a year later became parents to their daughter Anastasia.
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Svetlana Masterkova with her daughter
Remembering the lack of maternal attention in her own personal life, Svetlana tries to spend as much time as possible with loved ones, and, judging by Instagram, she is doing a good job.
Personal records
Our heroine has established herself as a professional in the sport of athletics. Svetlana Masterkova is the owner of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland. But that is not all. She was awarded the title of master of sports.
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Let's list some of Svetlana Masterkova's records:
- 400m run - ran in 53.12 seconds.
- The 1.5 km distance was covered in 3 minutes and 56 seconds.
- She holds the world record for running 1 kilometer. Sveta ran this distance in 2 minutes. 55 sec.
Svetlana Masterkova now
Now the world record holder in middle-distance running regularly appears on television programs on the central channels of Russia. In recent years, her archive has been replenished with participation in talk shows, among which was a special edition of “Live Broadcast” dedicated to the deceased singer Yulia Nachalova. On the program, Masterkova told the story of her long-term friendship with the pop music star and expressed condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
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Svetlana Masterkova
Svetlana’s social activities also did not remain behind the scenes of Russian reality. In 2020, the athlete became the ambassador of the World Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk and brilliantly coped with the organization of one of the main sporting events in the country.
And in 2020, viewers again saw their favorite athlete on television: this time Svetlana took part in the popular show “Mask”.
Achievements and awards
- 1991 – USSR champion in athletics (800 m)
- 1993 – Silver medal at the World Athletics Championships (800 m)
- 1996 – Bronze medal at the European Indoor Athletics Championships (800 m)
- 1996 – Olympic champion in athletics (800 m)
- 1996 – Olympic champion in athletics (1500 m)
- 1996 – IAAF World Athlete of the Year
- 1996 – Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree
- 1998 – European champion in athletics (800 m)
- 1999 – Bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships (800 m)
- 1999 – World champion in athletics (1500 m)
Masterkova, Svetlana Alexandrovna
Born on January 17, 1968 in Achinsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory).
In 2002, she graduated in absentia from the linguistic department of the Moscow State Open Pedagogical University. M. A. Sholokhov (since 2006 - Moscow State Humanitarian University, Moscow State University for the Humanities, named after M. A. Sholokhov; in 2020 joined the Moscow Pedagogical State University).
Candidate of Historical Sciences. In 2012 she defended her defense at Moscow State University for the Humanities. M. A. Sholokhov’s dissertation on the topic “State program for the development of children’s and youth sports in the Russian Federation in 1991-2008.”
In the early 1980s. Svetlana Masterkova began running at the comprehensive children's and youth sports school at the trade union committee of the Achinsk Alumina Refinery (now the comprehensive children's and youth sports school in Achinsk). The first coach was Tatyana Shakurova. Since 1983, Svetlana Masterkova was a member of the USSR junior team. In 1986-1987 trained in Krasnoyarsk, where she studied at the local pedagogical college. In 1987, she moved to Moscow and continued training under the guidance of honored coaches of the USSR Svetlana Styrkina and Yakov Elyanov, who also trained a number of other runners - winners of Russian and international competitions. In July 1991, in Kyiv (Ukrainian SSR, now Ukraine), she became the champion of the Soviet Union in the 800 m race. The tournament was combined with the final competitions of track and field athletes within the framework of the X Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. In February 1993, in Moscow, at the Russian Indoor Athletics Championships, she took first place in the 800 m race. In March of the same year, in Toronto (Canada), at the World Indoor Athletics Championships, she won a silver medal in the 800 m race. In March 1996, she took second place in the 800 m distance at the European Indoor Athletics Championships (Stockholm, Sweden). In 1996 in St. Petersburg she became the champion of Russia in the 800 and 1500 m running. In 1997 in Tula she again won the national championship in the 1500 m running. In July - August 1996 she became a two-time champion of the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (Georgia, USA), winning gold medals in the 800 m and 1500 m races. On August 14, 1996, at a competition in Zurich (Switzerland), Svetlana Masterkova set a world record in the 1 mile race (1609 m) - 4 min. . 12.56 sec. A week later, at an athletics tournament in Brussels (Belgium), she set a world record at a distance of 1000 m - 2 minutes. 28.98 sec. The first achievement in July 2020 was surpassed by the Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan (4 minutes 12.33 seconds). In August 1998, in Budapest (Hungary), she won the 1500 m race at the European Championships. In August 1999, in Seville (Spain), she became the world champion at a distance of 1500 m, and also won a bronze medal in the 800 m race. In September 2000, she took part in the XXVII Summer Olympics in Sydney (Australia), but due to injured, withdrew from the race in the preliminary 1500 m race. In the early 2000s. was an adviser to the President of the Russian Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachev. In 2002 she completed her sports career. After that, she worked as a correspondent for the sports satellite TV channel NTV+. In 2004 she took part in the extreme television show “Fear Factor” (NTV), in 2006 in the adventure television games “Fort Boyard” (Russian version, TV channel “Russia”) and “Big Races” (Channel One), in 2007 paired with Sergei Zhokhov - in the project “Dancing with the Stars” (Russia), in 2011 - in the extreme project “Cruel Intentions” (Channel One). In the second half of the 2000s. She was the presenter of the morning broadcast on the Domashny TV channel, then - the program about healthy eating “Food Without Harm” on the Telecafe channel (JSC Channel One. Worldwide Television Network).
In the first half of the 2010s. was vice president of the company for organizing sports events “New League”. Since 2011, he has held the position of director of the State Budgetary Institution “Children’s Sports Palace” of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Moscow. In the same year, she co-founded the non-profit partnership for promoting the development of biathlon “Race of Champions”. From December 2011 to November 2020, she served as chairman of the regional public organization “Moscow Athletics Federation”. In 2012-2016 was a member of the presidium of the All-Russian Athletics Federation. In 2012-2017 — Member of the Council of Deputies of the Tagansky Municipal District of Moscow. On March 4, 2012, she was elected to its composition in electoral district No. 1, receiving 28.48% of the votes. She ran as a self-nominated candidate. Since 2014, he has been a member of the expert pool of the Moscow Public Chamber. In 2020, she was a confidant of the candidate for the post of Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. He is the ambassador of the XXIX World Winter Universiade 2020 in Krasnoyarsk. Member of the public council of the Moscow Longevity project (a project of the Mayor of Moscow, intended for active capital residents of the older generation).
Honored Master of Sports (1996). Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (1996).
Honorary citizen of Achinsk (2010). In 1996, she was recognized as the best female athlete in the world according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Member of the IAAF Hall of Fame (2013).
Author of the book “Olympic Distance of Beauty” (2007).
Speaks English and Spanish.
Divorced. She was married to four-time USSR road cycling champion Asyat Saitov (born 1965). Daughter - Anastasia Saitova (born 1995) - tennis player.
