Anfisa Serhiyivna Pochkalova ( uk, Анфіса Сергіївна Почкалова; born 1 March 1990) is a Ukrainian
épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
fencer. She is the 2009 world individual bronze medalist.
Personal life
Pochkalova was born 1 March 1990 in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
. She is a student at the
Lviv State University of Physical Culture
Lviv State University of Physical Culture ( uk, Львівський державний університет фізичної культури) is a university specializing in sports education and located in Lviv, Ukraine.
History
Lviv State ...
.
Career
Pochkalova learnt fencing in Lviv under Zoriana Savruk, then Andriy Orlykovskyi, who also trained Olympic champion
Yana Shemyakina
Yana Volodymyrivna Shemyakina ( uk, Яна Володимирівна Шемякіна; born 5 January 1986)
World championships in Beijing, where Ukraine finished 13th.
In 2009, she earned a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Belfast. She was part of the Ukrainian team that won the gold medal at the
2009 Summer Universiade
The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...
in Belgrade. She reached the semi-final in the senior
World Fencing Championships
The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE; ''International Fencing Federation'' in English). Contestants may participate in Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and S ...
after defeating reigning Olympic champion
Britta Heidemann
Britta Heidemann (born 22 December 1982) is a German épée fencer.
In 2016, Heidemann became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Career Épée Fencing
At the age of 14, already being a successful athlete and swimmer, Britta ...
, but fell to Russia's
Lyubov Shutova
Lyubov Andreyevna Shutova (russian: Любовь Андреевна Шутова; born 25 June 1983) is a Russian fencer, World champion in 2009 and team World champion in 2013 and 2014. Bronze medallist of a team event at 2016 Summer Olympics ...
and came away with a bronze medal. She finished the 2008–09 season no.1 in junior rankings and no.26 in senior rankings, a career best as of 2014.
This early success was followed by a dry spell. She took part in the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London as a member of the Ukrainian team. They were largely defeated by Russia in the first round and finished last after the classification matches. In the 2012–13 season Pochkalova returned to a top 50 ranking with a table of 16 at the Xuzhou Grand Prix, a quarter-final at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
and a second round at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. After a disappointing 2013–14 season, she won at Legnano her first World Cup competition after defeating Romania's
Ana Maria Brânză
Ana Maria Popescu, formerly known as Ana Maria Brânză (, born 26 November 1984), is a Romanian left-handed épée fencer.
Popescu is a four-time team European champion, 2013 individual European champion, and two-time team world champion.
A f ...