Lyudmila Shevtsova

For the Belarusian biathlete born in 1973, see Lyudmila Lysenko (biathlete).

Lyudmila Shevtsova

Shevtsova at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Native name	Людмила Шевцова
Nationality	Russian-Ukrainian
Born	(1934-11-26)26 November 1934 Taman, Temryuksky District, Azov-Black Sea Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	13 April 2026(2026-04-13) (aged 91)
Height	164 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country	Soviet Union
Sport	Middle-distance running
Club	Avanhard, Dnipropetrovsk
Medal record Women's athletics Representing Soviet Union Olympic Games 1960 Rome 800 m European Championships 1954 Bern 800 m

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanovna and the family name is Gurevitch/Shevtsova/Lysenko.

Lyudmila Ivanovna Gurevitch (née Shevtsova, later Lysenko; 26 November 1934 – 13 April 2026) was a Russian-Ukrainian athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres. On 3 July 1960, she set a world record in this event at 2 minutes 4.3 seconds. She equaled this time while winning the 800 m gold at the 1960 Olympics two months later. Two Australians, Brenda Jones and Dixie Willis led the race. With 50–70 m left, Willis stepped on the curb and dropped out of competition, while Shevtsova gradually reached Jones and won in the last meters.

In 1954, Shevtsova finished second in the 800 m at the nationals and third at the European Championships. At the 1962 European Championships, she failed to reach the final. During her career, she won nine national titles: in the 400 m in 1955; in the 800 m in 1955–1956, 1959, and 1961–1962; and in the cross-country in 1960–1962 and 1964. After retiring from competitions she coached athletics in Kyiv. She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1960.

Shevtsova first trained in artistic gymnastics, and changed to running only in 1951, after unexpectedly winning a cross-country race at the Dnipropetrovsk championships. She married twice and thus changed her last name to Lysenko and then to Gurevich. She has two sons from different marriages, Oleg (born 1957), and Vladimir. She lived in Kyiv with her second husband, an athletics coach.

Shevtsova died on 13 April 2026, at the age of 91.

External links

• Media related to Lyudmila Shevtsova at Wikimedia Commons
• Lyudmila SHEVTSOVA at World Athletics
• Lyudmila LISENKO-SHEVTSOVA at Olympics.com
• Lyudmila Lysenko at Olympedia
• Lyudmila Shevtsova at IMDb