Olga Alexandrovna Shitina, English teacher, school №48,

Kemerovo 2013

Zoya Petrova

Zoya Petrova is an Zoya Petrova is an outstanding skier. outstanding skier.

She is a pride of She is a pride of Kuzbass. Kuzbass. Having reached a pension age Zoya Petrova was engaged in a referee sport practice for many years. She was a top-specialist in a secretariat of many All-Union competitions.

Zoya was born in 1917. She studied at school № 12. The patrons of this school presented Zoya with skis as a will to victory. So Zoya has got her own skis for the first time.

Zoya got her first skiing-lessons from her teachers. They were Nikolai Stupnikov and Anatoly Drushlyak.

She was successful everywhere: at school and in sports clubs.

As a leading sportsman Zoya Petrova was sent to serve to the United Militarized Fire-brigade №1. And actually all her life was connected with the Control Fire guard. Her main pleasure during the wartime was sport. In winter 1942 Zoya Petrova took part in a political action of wartime, in All-Union competitions in skiing. She took part in National championships in skiing up to 1948.

Zoya Petrova’s enormous merits in sports were written in a chronicle of Sport glory of the region. The title of a laureate in a contest of “Kemerovite woman of a year” was a symbol of Kuzbass people’s love to a legendary athlete. Zoya Petrova has got a lot of rewards for prize places as well as for social activity in sport. In her home place there is a diploma of Olympic Committee of Russia for a big contribution into the development of skiing and propaganda of Olympic movement and a statuette “Running skier”. Zoya Petrova was a champion in a team championship of Kuzbass in 1947, 1954.

There are three dearest rewards for Zoya Petrova among numerous ones. They are: - the medal for Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War (1941 – 1945), - the medal for glorious Labour during the Great Patriotic War (1941 – 1945) - the order “Valour of Kuzbass” given by Aman Gumirovich Tuleev, a Kuzbass governor (2007).

Zoya is always among young people.

She tries to tell them about war time.

She brings her all rewards to the

meetings with young people.

Now she gets a lot of invitations to

various sports events. But she

attends them only as a guest of

honour.

Kuzbass people are proud of

Zoya Petrova.