Lithuanian Birutė Kalėdienė (née Zalogaitytė) took up athletics in 1952 and rose to prominence in 1958, when she won her first Soviet title. In addition to her Olympic bronze, Kalėdienė also won silver at the 1958 European Championships and was fourth at the 1964 Olympics. Kalėdienė was Soviet Champion in 1958-60 and won 10 Lithuanian titles. Kalėdienė became the first Lithuanian athlete to set a world record, when she threw 57.49 in 1958. In 1958, she was selected as the Lithuanian athlete of the year. Kalėdienė retired from sports in 1966 and later worked as an athletics coach in Kaunas. She was also a board member of Ąžuolyno Kaunas sports club and competed successfully in masters athletics, winning the World Championship in F70 class in 2005.
Personal Best: JT – 57.49 (1958).