Vladimir_Ponomaryov_(runner)
Vladimir Ponomaryov (Russian: Владимир Иванович Пономарёв; born 10 August 1952) is a Russian former Soviet middle-distance runner. He represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics and was a seven-time Soviet national champion, four times outdoors.
Born in Razvilnoye in Rostov Oblast, he was a member of the Rostov-on-Don athletic club during his career.[1] He came to national prominence with a 1000 metres win at the 1973 Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships.[2] He went on to compete at the 1974 European Athletics Championships, where he narrowly missed a medal in fourth behind Finland's Markku Taskinen.[3]
International success came in 1975 with bronze medals at the 1975 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 1975 European Cup.[4][5] He also reached the pinnacle of the sport at national level with an 800 m win at the 1975 Soviet Spartakiad.[6] After a third-place finish over 800 metres at the Soviet Athletics Championships,[7] he was selected to represent the Soviet Union at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He competed in the 800 m and 4 × 400 metres relay heats only.[1]
Ponomaryov was dominant nationally in 1977, taking the 800 m indoor title and an 800/1500 metres double at the Soviet Championships. He was absent in the 1978 season but returned the following year to win his last national titles over 1500 m at the Soviet Indoor Championships and Spartakiad.[2][6] In his last major international outing, he took his highest honour – a 1500 m silver medal at the 1979 IAAF World Cup behind West Germany's Thomas Wessinghage.[8] He set a lifetime best of 3:37.9 minutes for the event that same year.[9]