sprinter athletics competitor middle-distance runner
Otkalenko became the most successful record breaker in the women"s 800 m during the 1950s. Starting with a world record of 2:12.0 minutes in 1951, she went on to improve her own 800 metres world record four more times. Spearheading a significant improvement in women"s times in the event over her career, her last world record of 2:05.0 minutes in 1955 stood for almost five years, before it was beaten by her compatriot Lyudmila Shevtsova.
She ranked number one in the world in the 800 m every year from 1951 to 1958, bar 1956 and 1957 when she ranked second to Lyudmila Lysenko and Yelizaveta Yermolayeva.
She also set world records in the pre-IAAF era, with a Women"s 400 metres world record of 55.5 in 1954 and also a 1500 metres world record of 4:37.0 minutes in 1952. She was highly successful in domestic competition, ending her career with a total of 22 Soviet titles in track and field and cross country disciplines.
400 metres – 55.0 seconds (1954)
800 metres – 2.05.0 minutes (1955)
1500 metres – 4:37.0 minutes (1952).