Lydia Skoblikova

Lydia Skoblikova, born in 1939, Russian speed skater, winner of six gold medals at two Olympic Games, including all four gold medals for individual speed skating at the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. She was the first person to win four gold medals at the Winter Games.

Born in Zlatoust, Russia (then part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), Skoblikova was a university student when she qualified for the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. At that year’s competition she won the 3000-meter and the 1500-meter speed-skating events. At the 1963 world championships in Karuizawa, Japan, she finished first in the 500-, 1000-, 1500-, and 3000-meter races. At the 1964 Winter Games Skoblikova won gold medals in all four of those events, breaking Olympic records in the 500-, 1000-, and 1500-meter races. For her efforts, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev awarded Skoblikova full membership in the Communist Party. Skoblikova competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, finishing 11th in the 1500-meter race.