Maria Leontyavna Itkina

Maria Itkina

Maria Itkina at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Born	3 February 1932 (1932-02-03) (age 85) Roslavl, Russia
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	60–400 m
Club	Spartak Minsk Dynamo Minsk
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 11.4 (1960) 200 m – 23.4 (1956) 400 m – 52.9 (1965)
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union European Athletics Championships 1954 Bern 200 m 1954 Bern 4×100 m 1958 Stockholm 400 m 1962 Belgrade 400 m 1958 Stockholm 400 m

Maria (also "Mariya" and "Marina") Leontievna Itkina (Belarusian: Марыя Лявонцеўна Іткіна; Russian: Мария Леонтьевна Иткина; born 3 February 1932) is a retired Soviet runner who set multiple world records in various sprint events. She competed at the 1956 and 1960 and 1964 Olympics and finished four times in fourth place. Domestically Itkina held 17 Soviet sprint titles.

Itkina won four European titles: one in the 200 m (24.3 s, 1954), one in the 4 × 100 m relay (1954), and two in the 400 m (53.7 s in 1958 and 53.4 s in 1962). She also won the 200 m sprint at the 1957 World University Games in Paris, in 24.6 seconds.

In her three Olympics, Itkina came in fourth in four events: the 4 × 100 m relay in 1956 and 1960, and the 100 m and 200 m sprint in 1960; she finished fifth in the 400 m in 1964. Her differences with the bronze medalists in the individual events were 0.06, 0.03 and 0.2 seconds, respectively. In 1956 she was eliminated in the 200 m semi-finals coming in 0.01 seconds behind the qualifier Norma Croker.

In July 1956, Itkina set a 220-yard world record of 23.6 seconds, yet her favorite events were 400 m and 440 yd, in which she set at least four world records between 1957 and 1962. In 1960 she ran her personal best of 11.4 seconds in the 100 meter sprint, which remained a world-top level result for many decades. In 1961, she tied the indoor 60 meter world record of 7.3 seconds, and in 1963 she was part of the Soviet 800-meter relay team that set a world record of 1.34.7.

Itkina is Jewish. She was born in Roslavl, Russia, and later lived in Minsk. In 1991 she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.