Faina Melnyk

Medal record
Women's Athletics
Competitor for the Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold	1972 Munich	Discus
IAAF World Cup
Gold	1977 Düsseldorf	Discus
Universiade
Gold	1973 Moscow	Discus

Faina Grigorievna Veleva-Melnik (Ukrainian: Фаїна Григорівна Мельник, Russian: Фаина Григорьевна Велева-Мельник, born July 9, 1945, in Bakota, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukrainian SSR) was a Ukrainian-born Soviet discus thrower, a 1972 Summer Olympics champion in the discus event.

Melnik, who is considered to be one of the most dominant track and field athletes of the 1970s, set the world record twice and held the # 1 ranking in women's discus from 1971–77, the third longest world's # 1 ranking streak in women's track and field history. She set 11 world records.

Career

Melnik is Jewish, and was born in Bakota, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. She competed for VSS Sevan Yerevan (Armenian SSR) (1969–73), and later for VSS Spartak Moscow (1976–80).

At the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, during her international début, she set a world record in the discus throw (64.22 m).

In 1972 at the Munich Olympic Games, she established another world record (with her final throw) of 66.62 metres. During the contest she broke the Olympic record three times, with each of her three final throws.

She took her second European title in 1974 at Rome with a throw of exactly 69.00 metres.

Melnik was the first woman to break the 70-meter mark in 1975. Her personal best was 70.50 m in 1976. At the Olympic Games in 1976 she received a 4th place.

In 1977, she won the first World Cup discus competition in Düsseldorf.

A member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Melnik is currently a teacher in Moscow.

See also

• List of select Jewish track and field athletes

External links

• Sports Reference bio
• Sporting Heroes bio
• dataOlympic profile

Records
Preceded by Liesel Westermann	Women's Discus World Record Holder August 12, 1971 – September 23, 1972	Succeeded by Argentina Menis
Preceded by Argentina Menis	Women's Discus World Record Holder May 25, 1973 – August 12, 1978	Succeeded by Evelin Jahl
Awards
Preceded by Irena Szewińska	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1975	Succeeded by Tatyana Kazankina
Sporting positions
Preceded by Argentina Menis	Women's Discus Best Year Performance 1973 – 1976	Succeeded by Sabine Engel