Galina Chistyakova

URSWomen

Galina Valentinovna Chistyakova is a retired track and field athlete who represented the Soviet Union and later Slovakia. Born on 26 July 1962 in Izmail, Ukraine, she is best known as the current world record holder in the women's long jump, a distinction she has held for decades.

Chistyakova set the world record with a leap of 7.52 metres on 11 June 1988, a mark that has stood ever since and remains one of the longest-standing records in all of athletics. That same year, she earned the Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Games. She went on to win the World Indoor Championship title in 1989, further solidifying her status at the top of the event.

Beyond the long jump, Chistyakova also excelled in the triple jump, setting a former world record of 14.52 metres in 1989, prior to the event's official recognition by the IAAF. Competing as a member of Spartak Moscow, her enduring long jump world record stands as a testament to her extraordinary talent in horizontal jumping events.