Vera Vladimirovna Bryndzei (born 25 January 1952 in Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....

, Ukrainian SSR

Ukrainian SSR

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...

) is a former speed skater

Speed skating

Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

 who competed for the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

Skating for Dynamo Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, Vera Bryndzei won a silver medal at the Soviet Sprint Championships in 1975. One week earlier, she had finished seventh at the Soviet Allround Championships. She would eventually win two more national medals, both at the Soviet Allround Championships: silver in 1977 and bronze in 1978.

Bryndzei made her first international appearance in 1976 at the World Allround Championships

World Allround Speed Skating Championships

The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world...

 in Gjøvik

Gjøvik

is a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik.In 1861, the village of Gjøvik in the municipality of Vardal was granted town status and was separated from Vardal to form a separate municipality...

 where she finished 16th. Her only international success came the next year when Bryndzei became the 1977 World Allround Champion in Keystone

Keystone, Colorado

Keystone is a census-designated place in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The population was 825 at the 2000 census. The Dillon Post Office serves Keystone postal addresses....

. She also participated in the World Sprint Championships

World Sprint Speed Skating Championships

The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day...

 two weeks later, finishing 23rd. In 1978, Bryndzei did not successfully defend her World Champion title, finishing in a disappointing 14th place. At the 1980 Winter Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

 of Lake Placid

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

, she competed in the 1,500 m, resulting in an 18th place.

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Bryndzei skated her personal records.

Event	Result	Date	Venue	WR
500 m	41.7	12 February 1977	Keystone Keystone Resort Keystone Resort is the largest ski resort in Summit County located in Keystone, Colorado, United States. It was founded on November 21, 1970 by Max Dercum. The resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts which also operates three other resorts in the state and Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar...	40.68
1,000 m	1:23.72	25 December 1976	Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...	1:23.46
1,500 m	2:10.93	26 March 1977	Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...	2:09.90
3,000 m	4:41.78	25 December 1979	Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...	4:31.00
5,000 m	8:15.41	7 April 1976	Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...	none

Note that the 5,000 m was suspended as a world record event at the 1955 ISU (International Skating Union

International Skating Union

The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...

) Congress and was reinstated at the 1982 ISU Congress.

Bryndzei has an Adelskalender score of 181.847 points.