Five facts about…..Russia’s Margarita Goncharova

Each day we will be revealing five fascinating facts about one of the world’s top para-athletics stars.

And to kick start today, here are five facts about… Russian T38 champion Margarita Goncharova.

1. Goncharova has won no fewer than seven European Championship gold medals.

2. The 24-year-old is married to another successful Paralympian, the biathlete and cross-country skier Ivan Goncharov.

3. She is the reigning world, Paralympic and European long jump T38 champion.

4. The Russian added 26 centimetres on to the long jump T38 world record mark in Berlin earlier this year, jumping 5.22m.

5. The first medal ceremony in London’s Olympic stadium at the 2012 Paralympic Games saw Goncharova climb to the top of the podium having won the long jump F37/38 – her first of three gold medals.

The IPC Athletics World Championships will take place in Doha, Qatar, between 21-31 October., attracting 1,400 athletes from 100 countries.