Maria Isakova, Soviet speed skater died she was , 92.

Maria Grigoryevna Isakova, nicknamed Cinderella of Vyatka, was a World Champion speed skater. She was born in Vyatka (now Kirov), Russian SFSR, and competed for the Soviet Union died she was , 92.

(5 July 1918 – 25 March 2011)

Isakova started skating at a very young age, spending many hours every day on the ice because she liked skating very much. Seeing how fast she was, people in Vyatka told her to participate in the Soviet Allround Championships, but Isakova was reluctant at first. She finally gave in and when she participated in the 1936 Soviet Allround Championships, pretending to be aged 17 (she was not allowed to compete at her true age of 15), she finished fifth. However, it took until 1944 before she won an allround medal at the Soviet Championships. That 1944 allround medal was silver – gold ones would follow the next five years. She also won the prestigious Kirov prize five times, the first time as early as 1938, the last time in 1951.
Isakova participated in the World Allround Championships three times, winning gold every time. This made her the first female speed skater to become World Champion three times and, since her titles were consecutive, the first female speed skater to become World Champion in three consecutive years. For her achievements, Isakova was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Medals

An overview of medals won by Isakova at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:

Championships	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
World Allround	1948 1949 1950	–	–
Soviet Allround	1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951	1944 1950	–

World records

Over the course of her career, Isakova skated one world record on the old Medeo natural icerink at Alma-Ata:

Event	Result	Date	Venue
1,500 m	2:29.5	12 February 1951	Alma Ata - Old Medeo

 Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Isakova skated her personal records.

Event	Result	Date	Venue	WR
500 m	47.7	8 January 1952	Alma-Ata - Old Medeo	46.4
1,000 m	1:37.2	16 February 1951	Alma-Ata - Old Medeo	1:38.8
1,500 m	2:29.5	12 February 1951	Alma-Ata - Old Medeo	2:36.7
3,000 m	5:21.7	23 January 1953	Alma-Ata - Old Medeo	5:21.3
5,000 m	9:32.0	1 February 1949	Moscow - TsDKA Stadion	9:28.3

 

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