Born in
Dnipropetrovsk, her breakthrough in the triple jump came in 1991 when she broke the
world record with a clearance of 14.95 metres in June. Her first major medals came in 1992. At the inaugural appearance of the women's triple jump at the
1992 European Athletics Indoor Championships she won the gold medal. Later that year at the
1992 Summer Olympics she claimed the long jump silver as part of the
Unified Team. She followed this with a gold medal at the first women's triple jump at the
1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but due to a doping ban she did not compete at the debut of the event at the
1993 World Championships in Athletics, where Russia's
Anna Biryukova took the title. In 1994 she won the long jump at the
1994 IAAF World Cup and doubled up at the
1994 European Athletics Championships to take long jump silver and triple jump bronze. She jumped the world record at the
1995 World Championships in
Gothenburg with 15.50 metres after studying a picture of
Jonathan Edwards. The following year she won the Olympic gold medal at the
1996 Atlanta Olympics, becoming the first ever women's champion in the triple jump. == Ban and suspension ==