Antonina Krivoshapka

Antonina Vladimirovna Krivoshapka (; born 21 July 1987) is a Russian sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where her team originally was awarded a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. Krivoshapka and her teammates were later stripped of this medal after Krivoshapka tested positive for the steroid turinabol.

Early years Hailing from Rostov-on-Don, Krivoshapka won the silver medal in the 400 m at the 2003 World Youth Championships in a time of 53.54 s, and won bronze in the medley relay. However, she had little success in the following years, placing only fifth in the heats of the 2004 World Junior Championships. She did not improve on her personal best in 2005 or 2006, and only competed on the national level. However, she began to steadily improve her performances in 2007 and 2008, posting seasonal bests of 52.32 s and 51.24 s, respectively.

Professional athletics career Krivoshapka's international breakthrough came in 2009, when she set a personal best of 50.55 s over 400 m indoors to win the Russian indoor championships, and subsequently won the 400 m gold medal at the 2009 European Indoor Championships. Later that year, during the semifinals at the Russian national championships in Cheboksary, she lowered her outdoor 400 m personal best by nearly a full second by running 49.29 s, the second-fastest time in the world that year. She went on to win the national title in 49.71 s. With these performances, Krivoshapka was considered one of the favorites for a medal in the 400 m at the World Championships in Berlin. In the 400 m final, she won the bronze medal in 49.71 s, behind Sanya Richards and Shericka Williams. She initially won another bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay, where she anchored the Russian team.

Krivoshapka suffered an injury in an unusual fashion in early 2010 – while doing sprint training on a track in Volgograd, a young boy walked into her path and she strained her back in the ensuing collision. She missed the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships as a result but fully recovered in time for the outdoor season. In April she was given a two-year ban, which disqualified her 2012 and 2013 results.