Tamara Press facts for kids

Tamara Press at the 1964 Olympics
Quick facts for kids Personal information
Born	(1937-05-10)10 May 1937 Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	26 April 2021(2021-04-26) (aged 83) Moscow, Russia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Sport
Sport	Shot put, discus throw
Club	Trud Leningrad
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games Gold 1960 Rome Shot put Gold 1964 Tokyo Shot put Gold 1964 Tokyo Discus throw Silver 1960 Rome Discus throw European Championships Gold 1958 Stockholm Discus throw Gold 1962 Belgrade Shot put Gold 1962 Belgrade Discus throw Bronze 1958 Stockholm Shot put Universiade Gold 1961 Sofia Discus throw Gold 1963 Porto Alegre Discus throw

Tamara Natanovna Press (10 May 1937 – 26 April 2021) was a famous athlete from the Soviet Union. She was one of the best in the world at shot put and discus throw in the early 1960s.

Tamara won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games. She also won three European titles between 1958 and 1962. From 1959 to 1965, she broke 11 world records. Five of these were in shot put and six in discus throw. She also won 16 national titles in her home country.

Her younger sister, Irina Press, was also a very good athlete. Irina mostly competed in sprint races.

Tamara Press's Athletic Journey

Tamara Press was born in Kharkiv, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. Her father sadly passed away in World War II in 1942. After this, her mother moved with Tamara and her sister to Samarkand. There, the sisters began their training in athletics.

In 1955, Tamara moved to Leningrad to train with a well-known coach named Viktor Alekseyev. The next year, she was almost chosen for the Olympic team. However, there were many other strong athletes in throwing events, so she did not make the team that year.

Life After Competing

Tamara Press stopped competing in sports in 1966. After her athletic career, she became an athletics coach and an official in Moscow. She also wrote several books about sports, as well as social and economic topics.

In 1974, she earned a special degree called a PhD in pedagogy, which is the study of teaching. Tamara Press received several important awards for her achievements. These included the Order of Lenin in 1960, the Order of the Badge of Honour in 1964, and the Order of Friendship in 1997.

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