Vera Ivanovna Popkova (Russian: Вера Ивановна Попкова) (2 April 1943 – 29 September 2011)[1] was a Soviet track and field athlete who competed in the sprints.

Her international career ended on a high note with two gold medals in the 400 metres and relay at the 1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships.

Popkova began competing at the top level in 1965: she won her first Soviet title that year, running over 200 metres, and placed third in the event at the 1965 European Cup.

It was in this year that she had her greatest success with the Soviet relay team as she and her team mates set a new world record of 43.9 seconds for the 4×100 m relay at the Soviet championships then improved it further to 43.6 seconds at the athletics test event prior to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

[3] At the 1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships she claimed her first major international gold medal, winning the 400 m race in a time of 53.7 seconds.