Maria Stepanova

Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova, born on 23 February 1979, is a Russian professional and Olympic basketball player. She was born in the village of Shpakovskoye, now the town of Mikhaylovsk in Stavropol Krai, and grew up in Tosno in Leningrad Oblast. In the United States she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association. At a height of 203 cm she has been the sixth-tallest player in the league, level with Zheng Haixia and Lindsay Taylor, and for a time was the tallest member of the Russian national team until Ekaterina Lisina overtook her. Her honours include the title Honoured Master of Sports of Russia, the Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, first class, awarded on 2 August 2009 for her achievements at the 2008 Beijing Games, and three FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year awards in 2005, 2006 and 2008.