Biography: childhood and adolescence
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Masterkova was born on January 17, 1968 in the city of Achinsk, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Our heroine's father and mother had nothing to do with sports.
Sveta was a fairly large child. Children in the yard often made unpleasant jokes about her. The parents decided to help their daughter lose weight. They enrolled the girl in the athletics section. At first she tried to avoid classes, but at some point her interest in this sport awoke.
Coach Anatoly Volkov saw great potential in Svet. He invited the girl to his section. Our heroine could not miss such a chance. Within a week, Svetlana Masterkova began intensive training. Every day the results were getting better.
Career
Svetlana Masterkova took her first steps in sports as a runner at a distance of 800 m. In 1991, the girl won the USSR Championship. As a prize, she received a ticket to a competition in Tokyo. The coaches were confident that she would show excellent results there. But in the tournament held in the Japanese capital, Sveta took only 8th place.
Between 1992 and 1993 the girl received injury after injury. However, she still managed to win several awards. Gold was out of the question. But Masterkova received silver at the continental championship.
In 1994, Sveta temporarily left the sport due to marriage and pregnancy. She promised the coaches that she would definitely return. And so it happened.
Professional activity
Svetlana is the winner of many competitions (tournaments) in athletics. The girl became a two-time Olympic champion and world champion in athletics. The athlete has phenomenal achievements in running 800 and 1500 meters. The peak of Svetlana's career came in 1996.
In parallel with her sports career, the girl worked as a physical education instructor in the capital’s Labor Reserves society, and also supervised classes in various sports in educational institutions in Moscow.
After graduating from a successful sports career in 2003, the athlete took up writing, as well as active political and social activities. Svetlana Masterkova has been a member of the United Russia party since 2012. He often works as a television commentator for various sports competitions on the NTV channel.
Today, Svetlana Masterkova regularly takes part in various television programs on Channel One. In 2021, she became a guest of the “Evening Show with Alla Dovlatova” on Russian Radio.
In 2021, television viewers were able to see Svetlana as a singer on the new popular TV show “Mask” on the NTV channel , where she appeared in the image of Cloud. For the first time, the athlete risked trying herself as a vocalist, which she did quite successfully.
The jury of the project, which included Philip Kirkorov, Regina Todorenko, Timur Rodriguez, Valeria, Garik Martirosyan, were delighted with Svetlana’s rather professional performance.
Svetlana Masterkova - Olympic champion
In 1996, she again began to engage in athletics. She was included in the team to compete at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Svetlana participated in competitions at distances of 800 m and 1.5 km. She won gold in both races.
In 2000, Masterkova was sent to the Olympics, held in Sydney (Australia). But there Svetlana failed to show decent results. And all because of worsening health problems. Returning from Sydney to Moscow, she finally said goodbye to her sports career. The coaches supported her in this decision.
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 2015 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 2021 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 2021, 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 2021, she was a confidant of the candidate for the post of mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin. He is an ambassador of the XXIX World Winter Universiade 2021 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.
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.
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.
New facets of talent
Sport is not the only area in which Sveta Masterkova has succeeded. She is a graduate of Moscow State University. Sholokhov, as well as a candidate of historical sciences. Masterkova can communicate fluently in Spanish and English.
In 2003, producers of the NTV channel offered her to work as a sports commentator. Sveta agreed. I must say that she coped 100% with the tasks assigned to her.
In the summer of 2011, Masterkova was appointed director of the Children's Sports Palace. However, she lasted only a couple of months in this position. Svetlana Alexandrovna had to resign due to a conflict with representatives of the Russian Climbing Federation.
The former athlete was not going to sit idle. She decided to go into politics. Masterkova joined the United Russia party. And in 2012, Svetlana Alexandrovna became a deputy. But in this case we are not talking about the State Duma. The Olympic champion was accepted into the Council of Deputies of the Moscow Tagansky District.
Svetlana Masterkova. Personal life and social activities
The famous athlete arranged her family life, taking advantage of a pause in her career due to injury. In 1994, she married professional cyclist Asyat Saitov. In Spain, where he played for the local team, their daughter Anastasia was born.
After finishing her career, Svetlana Masterkova did not forget about sports. Since 2003, she has collaborated with NTV Plus sports channels, acting as a commentator and expert on athletics competitions.
The athlete is fluent in two languages – English and Russian. She received her higher education at Sholokhov Moscow State University for the Humanities, and in 2012 she even defended her PhD in historical sciences.
In 2011, Svetlana Masterkova headed the Children's Sports Palace in Moscow. In this position, she had conflicts with the president of the Russian Climbing Federation, when, by her decision, all climbing walls in the Palace she led were closed.
Svetlana Masterkova left a significant mark in the history of athletics. The records she set have not been broken to this day.
Svetlana Masterkova: biography, personal life
Our heroine can be called a one-woman woman. She dreamed of getting married once and for life. In the end, that’s what happened. But first things first.
In her youth, Svetlana Masterkova did not have affairs with guys. Sports came first for her. And only at the end of 1993 the personal life of our heroine changed for the better. She met cyclist Asyat Saitov. At first sight, the girl liked the tall guy with a strong torso. Her feelings turned out to be mutual.
In 1994, the lovers got married. Svetlana had to pause her sports career. The newlyweds left for Spain. The fact is that Asyat performed in this country. The couple settled in the small town of Alicante. There, in 1995, their common daughter was born. The baby was named Anastasia. A few years later the family returned to Moscow. Sveta took up athletics again. Her beloved husband provided her with moral support.
For a long time, the couple dreamed of having an heir - a son. However, fate had its own way. Now Asyat and Svetlana are waiting for their daughter to make them grandparents.
Olympics in Sydney and Athens
Ahead of her was the Olympics in Sydney, where Svetlana was supposed to compete at the already “respectable” age for gymnasts of 20 years. This Olympics was a complete disappointment for the girl. According to the results of the preliminary competitions, our guys were in the lead in all types of the program. Sveta’s performances in the all-around also qualified the gymnast for the finals, which ultimately turned out to be a nightmare. The girl's fall from her favorite apparatus, as well as the unconvincing performance of other members of the team, on whom considerable hopes were pinned, reduced the team's chances of winning gold. However, he still remained. If Svetlana had performed impeccably, the team would have become first. The “blame” for the silver was placed on her shoulders. The gymnast was extremely upset by the loss and withdrew her well-deserved silver medal.
The all-around competitions were unsuccessful. Due to an error by the organizers, the pommel horse was installed 5 centimeters below the required level. Svetlana pointed out this mistake to the organizers, but the mistake was not corrected immediately. Many athletes made uncharacteristic mistakes. The gymnast's first jump was performed successfully, however, while performing the second jump, she fell. Worries about falling led to mistakes in performing on the uneven bars. The rest of the exercises were performed perfectly, but a fall during a jump prevented Sveta from taking the highest step of the podium in the all-around. Svetlana has repeatedly admitted to journalists that this failure left an unpleasant mark on her soul. The only pleasant moment of the 2000 Olympics was Svetlana’s victory in the individual uneven bars competition. She retained the title of Olympic champion.
For 6 years, starting in 1995, none of the athletes was able to repeat Svetlana’s success on the uneven bars.
The years 2001 and 2002 replenished the champion's collection with three gold, one silver and one bronze awards.
The 25-year-old athlete declares herself to participate in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
The team took third place as a team. In the all-around, Svetlana lost the lead to Carly Patterson from the USA.
In 2004, Khorkina left big sport.
