Valentina Gerasimova
- Born
- May 15, 1948 (78 years old)
- Birthplace
- Karaganda, Kazakhstan
- Events
- 800 m
- Height
- 1.70 m
- Weight
- 56 kg
Valentina Gerasimova (born May 15, 1948 in Quaraghandy, Quaraghandy Province, Kazakhstan) is a retired Soviet era track and field athlete specializing in middle distances. She competed in the 1976 Olympics.
She entered the event as the world record holder, having run a 1:56.0 in Kiev just a month earlier in qualifying for the Olympics (though the mark had not yet been ratified as the world record, which it was after the Olympics). That time was a second and a half improvement on the previous record set by Bulgarian Svetla Zlateva and proved to be her personal best in the event.
In the Montreal Olympics, she qualified for the semi-finals but was unable to make the final with a sub-par performance, as 6 of the qualifiers ahead of her bettered the standing Olympic record. In the final, teammate Tatyana Kazankina took Gerasimova's world record, improving an additional second plus to 1:54.94.
As of Nov 13, 2026: 800 m 1:56.0h (#498 all-time), 1980 season best 1:57.3h (Jul 6, 1980, Moskva (URS)) · National record (800 m) · 78 years old
Personal bests
WA points calculator →Progression
| Season | Discipline | Result | Wind | Date | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 800m | 1:57.3h | – | Jul 6, 1980 | Moskva (URS) |
| 1980 | 800m-short-track | 2:02.0h | – | Feb 15, 1980 | – |
| 1980 | 800m-short-track Indoor | 2:02.0h | – | Feb 15, 1980 | Moskva (URS) (i) |
| 1979 | 800m | 2:00.4h | – | Aug 12, 1979 | Kaunas (LTU) |
| 1976 | 800m | 1:56.0h | – | Jun 12, 1976 | Olympic Stadium, Montréal (CAN) |
| 1976 | 3x800Metre | 5:54.9h | – | Aug 16, 1976 | – |
| 1976 | 4x800Metre | 7:52.4h | – | Aug 16, 1976 | Podolsk (URS) |
| 1975 | 800m-short-track Indoor | 2:07.8h | – | Mar 8, 1975 | European Indoor Championships |