Vera Zozula

Who is Vera Zozula?

Vera Zozuļa or Vera Zozulya is a Latvian-born Soviet luger who competed during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. As of the 2014 Winter Olympics, she is the only non-German speaking winner of any Winter Olympic luge event.

Zozulya also won a complete set of medals in the women's singles event at the FIL World Luge Championships with a gold in 1978, a silver in 1977, and a bronze in 1981.

At the FIL European Luge Championships, she won two medals in the women's singles event with a gold in 1976 and a bronze in 1978. She won the overall women's singles Luge World Cup title in 1981-2.

Zozulya later became a coach for lugers in the Soviet Union, Latvia, and Poland. She was inducted into the International Luge Federation Hall of Fame in 2006.