Tatyana Kotova

Tatyana Kotova, born on 11 December 1976 in Kokand, Uzbekistan, is a Russian long jumper whose personal best of 7.42 m, achieved at Annecy in 2002, stands as the best distance by a female long jumper in the 21st century.

Kotova won Olympic bronze medals at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games. On the world stage, she earned three consecutive silver medals at the World Championships from 2001 to 2005, along with a bronze in 2007. Indoors, she was a three-time World Indoor champion, winning titles in 1999, 2003, and 2006, with additional runner-up finishes in 2001 and 2004. She was later stripped of her 2005 World silver and 2006 World Indoor title.

Her other major honors include gold at the 2002 European Championships and the 2002 IAAF World Cup, as well as winning the 2000 IAAF Golden League jackpot.