Tamara Press

Tamara Natanovna Press[nb 1] (born 10 May 1937) is a retired Soviet athlete who dominated the shot put and discus throw in the early 1960s. She won three gold and one silver medals at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and three European titles in 1958–1962. Between 1959 and 1965 she set 11 world records: five in the shot put and six in the discus. Domestically, she held 16 national titles, nine in the shot put (1958–66) and seven in the discus (1960–66).[1]

Tamara Press
Tamara Press at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Born10 May 1937 (1937-05-10) (age 83)
Kharkiv, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight102 kg (225 lb)
Sport
SportShot put, discus throw
ClubTrud Leningrad
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1960 Rome Shot put
1964 Tokyo Shot put
1964 Tokyo Discus throw
1960 Rome Discus throw
European Championships
1958 Stockholm Discus throw
1962 Belgrade Shot put
1962 Belgrade Discus throw
1958 Stockholm Shot put
Universiade
1961 Sofia Discus throw
1963 Porto Alegre Discus throw

Her younger sister Irina Press was also a prominent track athlete, but mostly in the sprint events.[2]

Career

Press was born to parents in Kharkiv, Soviet Union. Her father died fighting in World War II in 1942, while her mother took the daughters to Samarkand, where they started training in athletics.[3][4] In 1955 Press moved to Leningrad to train under the renowned coach Viktor Alekseyev. Next year she was shortlisted for the Olympic team, but was cut due to a strong domestic competition in the throwing events.[5][6]

Retirement and gender rumors

Both sisters were accused of being either secretly male or intersex, and therefore sometimes called the "Press Brothers".[3][7][8] They retired in 1966, just before gender verification became mandatory on location.[9] In retirement Press worked as an athletics coach and official in Moscow.[2] She also wrote several books on sport, social and economical subjects. In 1974 she defended a PhD in pedagogy.[1] She was awarded the Order of Lenin (1960), Order of the Badge of Honour (1964) and Order of Friendship (1997).[5][10]

Notes
  1. Russian: Тамара Натановна Пресс, Ukrainian: Тамара Натанівна Пресс, Tamara Natanivna Press

References
  6. https://www.jta.org/1960/10/03/archive/jewish-girl-winner-of-olympic-gold-medal-decorated-in-moscow
  7. "Switch hitter: If a man has a sex change can he compete in the Olympics as a woman?" thestraightdope.com. 22 August 2008
  8. Olympic Gender Drama-The Press Sisters. TransGriot. 9 November 2011
  9. Wallechinsky, David (2012). The Book of Olympic Lists. p. 20. ISBN 978-1845137731.
Records
Preceded by
Nina Dumbadze		 Women's Discus World Record Holder
12 September 1960 – 5 November 1967		 Succeeded by
Liesel Westermann
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