Lyudmila PROKASHEVA

Lyudmila Prokasheva emerged as a long distance skater in the early 1990s, but missed out on international medals initially. She placed fourth at the 1992 World Championships, and achieved a fourth, fifth and sixth place at the 1992 and 1994 Olympics. Her first major international medal came in 1995, when she was runner-up at the World All-Around Championships. She medalled again at the inaugural World Single Distance Championships in 1996, gaining a bronze in the 3000 m. She won Kazakhstan's first Olympic speed skating medal at the Nagano Games when she placed third in the 5000 m, although she was more than 10 seconds behind the other medallists. Prokasheva, a lieutenant at the Pavlodar police, also won two titles at the 1996 Asian Winter Games.

Personal Bests: 500 – 41.06 (1999); 1000 – 1:17.74 (2001); 1500 – 1:58.64 (1999); 3000 – 4:05.01 (2001); 5000 – 7:09.42 (2001).