Career
Born Valentina Bogdanova (Russian: Валентина Богданова) in Leningrad, she joined local club Burevestnik Leningrad and ranked within the top ten in the world for the first time in 1949, having jumped a best of 5.76 m (18 ft 103⁄4 in) that year. Lituyeva missed the 1951 season but returned for the 1952 Summer Olympics and managed to place eleventh in the final. She improved to 5.98 m (19 ft 71⁄4 in) and ranked fifth for the season.
Her next international appearance was at the 1955 World Festival of Youth and Students.
Lituyeva cleared six metres for the first time with a jump of 6.07 m (19 ft 103⁄4 in) that November. She remained at a high standard until her last season in 1959, jumping beyond six metres each year and setting a career best of 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in) in Moscow in 1958.
Lituyeva returned to try to regain her long jump title at the 1958 European Athletics Championships, but came up short behind West German athlete Liesel Jakobi and ended up with the silver medal. That was the last major competition that she competed in.