In Memorium Galina Prozumenschikova (November 26, 1948- July 19, 2015)


From
Russia comes the sad news that
Galina
Prozumenschikova

has passed away at the age of 66.  In

Olympic pool of Tokyo-1964, she was a 15-years-old blonde Mermaid from
Sebastopol who surprised the world by winning the final of 200 m in breast. She
thus became the first Olympic swimming gold medalist for the Soviet Union at
the Olympic Games.

Galina
Prozumenshikova, was not the only European gold medal winner at the 1964
Olympics in Tokyo but 8 years later at Munich, with a three year old son, she
was still a medalist. At Mexico City, in between her medals at Tokyo and
Munich, an appendectomy a month before the meet and the altitude took its toll
as Galina collapsed after the 200 (3rd) and lost the 100 by .001 to Bjedov of
Yugoslavia (2nd) and Sharon Wickman of the USA (1st).

After
the end of her prominent sporting career, she graduated from Moscow
University
and taught at the Swim school of Soviet Army for children for many years.  

Prozumenschikova
was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977 and

in
2013, she was recognized as one of the “100 Greatest Swimmers in
History” in a book by swim journalist John Lohn. 

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