Alevtina Pavlovna Kolchina (russian: Алевти́на Па́вловна Ко́лчина alternate spelling: Alevtina Koltsjina; 11 November 1930 – 1 March 2022) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

who competed during the 1950s and 1960s for Burevestnik and later for

Dynamo file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...

sports societies. She competed in four

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, earning a total of five medals. Kolchina also competed several times at the

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

, winning three times at 10 km (1961–1963) and once at 5 km (1966).

Personal life and death

Kolchina was born in the village of Pavlovsk, Ochyorsky District,

Perm Oblast Until 1 December 2005, Perm Oblast (russian: Пе́рмская о́бласть) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Privolzhsky (Volga) Federal District. According to the results of the referendum held in October 2004, Perm Oblast was ...

, and took up skiing at the age of 13. She was married to four-time Olympic cross country medalist

Pavel Kolchin Pavel Konstantinovich Kolchin (sometimes spelled Pavel Koltsjin; russian: Павел Константинович Колчин; 9 January 1930 – 29 December 2010) was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed during the 1950s and 1960s, tr ...

until his death in 2010. In 1973, the family moved to

Otepää Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...

, where Kolchins worked as national cross-country ski coaches, functionaries and consultants. Their son

Fjodor Koltšin Fjodor Koltšin (24 February 1957 – 8 April 2018) was an Estonian skier who represented the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Born in Moscow to Alevtina Kolchina and Pavel Kolchin, Fjodor Koltšin attended the University of Tartu ...

placed 15th in the

Nordic combined at the 1980 Winter Olympics Nordic combined at the 1980 Winter Olympics, consisted of one event, held from 18 February to 19 February. The ski jumping portion took place at Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, while the cross-country portion took place at Lake Placid Ol ...

, competing for

the Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

did not become independent from the Soviet Union until 1991.). Kolchina died on 1 March 2022, at the age of 91.

Career

Kolchina's biggest success was at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

, where she won three medals in 10 km (golds in 1958 and 1962, silver in 1966), three medals in the 3×5 km relay (golds in 1958, 1962, and 1966), and two medals in 5 km (golds in 1962 and 1966). Kolchina also was Soviet champion in women's cross country skiing thirteen times in her career.4 March 2022 TASS report on Alevtina Kolchina's passing.
(in Russian) - accessed 8 March 2022. For her successes in the world championships and at the Holmenkollen, Kolchina received the Holmenkollen medal in 1963 (shared with her husband,

Astrid Sandvik Astrid Sandvik (born 1 October 1939) is a Norwegian Alpine skier who finished tied for sixth place (with fellow Norwegian and 1958 Holmenkollen medalist Inger Bjørnbakken) in the women's slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo ...

, and

Torbjørn Yggeseth Torbjørn Yggeseth (18 June 1934 – 10 January 2010) was a Norwegian ski jumper who was active in the 1960s. He competed for Heggedal Idretsslag. Yggeseth won the ski jumping competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1963, the same year h ...

). Kolchina is the third woman, first

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n, and first female

Nordic skier Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

to ever win the Holmenkollen medal. Kolchina and her husband are the first husband and wife team to ever win the Holmenkollen Medal.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* Five medals – (one gold, one silver, three bronze)

World Championships

* 8 medals – (7 gold, 1 silver)

References

External links

* *
Holmenkollen medalists
– click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
– click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolchina, Alevtina 1930 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Perm Krai Russian female cross-country skiers Soviet female cross-country skiers Burevestnik (sports society) athletes Cross-country skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Dynamo sports society athletes Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Olympic cross-country skiers of the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics