 Tamara Press at the 1964 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1937-05-10)10 May 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 April 2021(2021-04-26) (aged 83) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Shot put, discus throw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Trud St. Petersburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tamara Natanovna Press[nb 1] (10 May 1937 – 26 April 2021)[1] was aSoviet athlete who dominated theshot put anddiscus throw in the early 1960s. She won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and three European titles in 1958–1962. Between 1959 and 1965, she set 11 world records: five in the shot put and six in the discus. Domestically, she held 16 national titles, nine in the shot put (1958–66) and seven in the discus (1960–66).[2]
Her younger sisterIrina Press was also a prominent track athlete, mostly in the sprint events.[3]
Tamara Press was born to parents inKharkov. Her father died fighting inWorld War II in 1942 and her mother took the daughters toSamarkand, where they started training in athletics.[4][5] In 1955, Press moved toLeningrad to train under the renowned coach Viktor Alekseyev. The following year she was shortlisted for the Olympic team but was cut due to a strong domestic competition in the throwing events.[6][7] She subsequently won four Olympic medals, three of them gold.
Both sisters were accused of being either secretly male orintersex.[4][8][9] They retired in 1966, just beforesex verification became mandatory on location.[10] In 1942 wartime Soviet evacuation records (at age 5) Tamara Press is documented as a girl.[11]
In retirement, Press worked as an athletics coach and official in Moscow.[3] She wrote several books on sport, social and economical subjects. In 1974, she defended aPhD inpedagogy.[2] She was awarded theOrder of Lenin (1960),Order of the Badge of Honour (1964) andOrder of Friendship (1997).[6][12]
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by | Women's Discus World Record Holder 12 September 1960 – 5 November 1967 | Succeeded by |
European Athletics Championships champions in women'sshot put | |
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European Athletics Championships champions in women'sdiscus throw | |
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