Elena NOVIKOVA-BELOVA

In 1976, Yelena Novikova-Belova became the first female fencer to win four Olympic gold medals. In 1968, she won both the individual and team foil under her maiden name (Novikova). She retained the team gold in Munich and Montréal, now married to Vyacheslav Belov, a modern pentathlon World Champion. She was close to a fifth gold in 1976, but lost her last pool match to the last-placed fighter, therefore missing the barrage for the gold medal, having to settle for bronze. Belova, who also won 8 World titles (individually in 1969, with the team seven times between 1970 and 1979), closed out her career at the Moscow Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the team foil. She was also an 11-time champion at the Europa Cup. Novikova-Belova was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1968 and the Honoured Trainer of Belarus in 1994.