The Soviet threesome of [Aleksandra Chudina], [Yelena Gorchakova], and [Galina Zybina] led the year lists, with Zybina, primarily a shot putter/discus thrower, having won bronze at the 1950 European Championships. Chudina was known as a multi-event athlete, but the women’s pentathlon was not an Olympic event until 1964. In round one, Czech [Dana Zátopková] opened with a PR of 50.47 (165-7) which would win her the gold medal, the three Soviets taking second thru fourth. Shortly before she won her gold medal, Zatopková’s husband, [Emil Zátopek], won the 5,000 metres, and would win three distance running gold medals in Helsinki – 5K, 10K, and marathon. Dana Zatopková would set one world javelin record, 55.73 (182-10¼) in 1958 and won the European Championships in 1954 and 1958.
