Olga Markova

Olga Markova (; born August 6, 1968) is a retired long-distance runner from Russia, who set the world's best year performance in 1992 and a new national record, when she won the Boston Marathon, clocking 2:23:43. In 1993, she defended her victory in Boston in 2:25:27. She did not make the Olympic team after finishing in fourth at the 1991 USSR Championships behind, among others, Madina Biktagirova, who tested positive for norephedrine at the 1992 Summer Olympics, earning the distinction of being the first Olympic marathoner to ever be disqualified for failing a drug test. The first Soviet-born athlete to win Boston, Olga Markova is the only Russian or Soviet athlete to defend a Boston marathon victory, and along with Irina Mikitenko (in 2009-09), the only Soviet-born athlete to defend a title of any of the current World Marathon Majors.

Currently, Markova resides in Gainesville, Florida.

Marathons