Quick Facts
GeminiBiography
Vera Aleksandrowna Sokolova (Russian: Вера Александровна Соколова; born June 8, 1987 in Solianoy, Morgaushsky District, Chuvash Republic) is a Russian race walker.
A gold medalist on the track at World Youth and European Junior level, she won her first major senior medal at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, taking the 20 km road walk bronze medal. She also represented Russia at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
She won the 2011 Russian Winter Walking Championships in Sochi with a world record in the 20 km road walk of 1:25:08, knocking 33 seconds off the former record set by Olimpiada Ivanova in the 2005 World Championships final. He continues to be coached by Viktor Chegin, after he has been suspended for a lengthy series of performance-enhancing drug suspensions against many of his athletes.
Doping case
In September 2015 IAAF confirmed that Sokolova was provisionally suspended after a sample from an out-of-competition control in Saransk in June had been found positive for a prohibited substance.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Russia | |||||
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 9th | 10,000 m track walk | 47:59.14 |
| 2003 | European Race Walking Cup (U20) | Cheboksary, Russia | 2nd | 10 km | 47:02 |
| 1st | Team - 10 km Junior | 3 pts | |||
| World Youth Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 1st | 5000 m track walk | 22:50.23 | |
| 2004 | World Race Walking Cup (U20) | Naumburg, Germany | 1st | 10 km | 45:29 |
| World Junior Championships | Grosseto, Italy | 3rd | 10,000 m track walk | 46:53.02 | |
| 2005 | European Race Walking Cup (U20) | Miskolc, Hungary | 1st | 10 km | 44:09 |
| 1st | Team - 10 km Junior | 3 pts | |||
| European Junior Championships | Kaunas, Lithuania | 1st | 10,000 m track walk | 43:11.34 | |
| 2006 | World Race Walking Cup (U20) | La Coruña, Spain | 1st | 10km | 44:49 |
| World Junior Championships | Beijing, People's Republic of China | 4th | 10,000 m track walk | 46:58.21 | |
| 2009 | European Race Walking Cup | Metz, France | 10th | 20 km | 1:36:43 |
| 1st | Team - 20 km | 14 pts | |||
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 14th | 20 km walk | 1:34:55 | |
| 2010 | World Race Walking Cup | Chihuahua, México | 4th | 20km | 1:33:54 |
| European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 3rd | 20 km walk | 1:29:32 | |
| 2011 | European Race Walking Cup | Olhão, Portugal | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:02 |
| 1st | Team - 20 km | 14 pts | |||
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 11th | 20km | 1:32:13 | |
| 2013 | European Race Walking Cup | Dudince, Slovakia | 2nd | 20 km | 1:29:18 |
| 1st | Team - 20 km | 6 pts | |||
| Universiade | Kazan, Russia | — | 20km | DQ | |
| 1st | Team - 20 km walk | 4:32:34 | |||
| World Championships | Moscow, Russia | — | 20km | DQ | |
| 2014 | World Race Walking Cup | Taicang, China | 4th | 20km | 1:27:03 |
| European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 4th | 20 km | 1:28:24 | |
| 2015 | European Race Walking Cup | Murcia, Spain | 6th | 20 km | 1:27:08 |
| 1st | Team - 20 km | 9 pts | |||