Background
She was born in Vyatka (now Kirov), Russian SFSR, and competed for the Soviet Union.
She was born in Vyatka (now Kirov), Russian SFSR, and competed for the Soviet Union.
Isakova started skating at a very young age, spending many hours every day on the ice because she liked skating very much. Seeing how fast she was, people in Vyatka told her to participate in the Soviet Allround Championships, but Isakova was reluctant at first. She finally gave in and when she participated in the 1936 Soviet Allround Championships, pretending to be aged 17 (she was not allowed to compete at her true age of 15), she finished fifth.
That 1944 allround medal was silver – gold ones would follow the next five years.
Isakova participated in the World Allround Championships three times, winning gold every time. Over the course of her career, Isakova skated one world record on the old Medeo natural icerink at Alma-Ata:
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Isakova skated her personal records.