About Margarita Ponomaryova
Margarita Anatolyevna Ponomaryova (Russian: Маргарита Хромова-Пономарева; 19 June 1963 – 16 September 2021), also known as Margarita Khromova, was a hurdler from Russia, best known for setting the world record in the women's 400 metres hurdles in 1984 with 53.58 secs. Ponomaryova was known by her married name of Khromova from 1985 to 1989, before reverting to her maiden name from 1990 onward. == Career == Ponomaryova was born in Balkhash, Kazakh SSR in the former Soviet Union. She began her international career by winning two medals at the 1981 European Junior Championships. In 1984, she made a dramatic improvement in the 400 metres hurdles to break the world record with 53.58 secs on 22 June in Kiev, to become the first woman to run below 54 seconds for the event. She was prevented from competing in that years Los Angeles Olympics due to the Soviet boycott. 1984 proved to be the only year where Ponomaryova would be the world's number one 400 m hurdler, however her international career would continue for another decade. In 1985, now competing as Margarita Khromova, she finished sixth in the World Cup in Canberra. In 1986, she reached the European Championship final in Stuttgart, placing eighth. The following year she was a semi-finalist at the World Championships in Rome, narrowly missing the final.
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