July 16, 2007

DEBRECEN, Hungary - Former Texas State women's track star Liudmila Litvinova anchored a Russian relay team that set a championship and meet record in the 4 x 400 meters relay with a time of 3:26.58 at the European Under-23 Championships held last weekend in Debrecen, Hungary.

Litvinova teamed with Olga Shulikova, Kseniya Zadorina and Yelena Novikova for gold in the relay event, with France and the Ukraine also medaling.

Litvinova, the 2007 Southland Conference indoor champion in both the individual and relay 400 meter events, repeated that feat as she took the individual 400 meters gold with a time of 51.25 seconds, beating Shulikova and Zadorina in the process for a Russian medal sweep.

The EAA U-23 Championships are held every two years and are put on by the European Athletics Association, Europe's governing body for athletics.

Litvinova's success also adds to the list of former Bobcat track and field athletes competing in major events around the world, as former men's track and field star Mike Hazle will compete in the javelin at the 2007 Pan-American Games this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.