Inga Grigoryevna Artamonova (; 29 August 1936 – 4 January 1966Great Russian Encyclopedia (2005), Moscow: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 2) was a Soviet speed skater, the first four-time Allround World Champion in women's speed skating history. After her marriage in 1959 to fellow speed skater Gennady Voronin (), she was also known as Inga Voronina ().
At the age of twelve, Inga Artamonova began rowing, becoming Master of Sports of the USSR and winning in the USSR Junior Championships. Later, she began speed skating. Skating for Dynamo in Moscow, Artamonova won the World Allround Speed Skating Championships in 1957, 1958, and 1962, and was second in 1963 and 1964 before capturing her fourth World Championships title in 1965. She also was five times Soviet Allround Champion and 26 times Soviet Champion in individual distances. Over the course of her career, Artamonova set of a number of world records, including four in two days in 1962 when she set new marks on the 500 m, 1,500 m, and 3,000 m, which also resulted in a new world record on the mini combination (500 m – 1,000 m – 1,500 m – 3,000 m; the distances then in use at the World Allround Championships for women). She was also eight times winner of the prestigious Kirov Prize, winning all editions between 1958 and 1965.
Her husband Gennady Voronin, who could not deal with all Artamonova's successes, had by this time become an alcoholic and seen his own speed skating career vanish. Murdered by Gennady at the age of 29, Artamonova was interred in the Vagankovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. She is the author of the book "I Am Learning to Go on the Ground" (), which was published after her death, in 1967.
Medals An overview of medals won by Artamonova at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:
Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal World Allround 1957 1958 1962 1965 1963 1964 – Soviet Allround 1956 1958 1962 1963 1964 1957 1959 1961 1965 –
World records Over the course of her career, Artamonova skated 5 world records:
DistanceResultDateLocation Mini combination206.0166 February 1956Sverdlovsk500 m44.927 January 1962Medeo1,500 m2:19.027 January 1962Medeo3,000 m5:06.028 January 1962MedeoMini combination189.03328 January 1962Medeo
References
External links Inga Artamonova at SkateResults.com An article about Inga by her brother Vladimir Artamonov (in Russian) The book about Inga Artamonova (in Russian)