Elena Allen (née Bogdanova; born 12 July 1972) is a British
sport shooter
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...
. She represented Wales in the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, winning the silver medal, having previously won bronze for England at the
2006 Games. She competed for Team GB at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and has been chosen once more to compete at the
2016 Games.
Early life
Elena Bogdanova was born in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia—then in 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 ...
—on 12 July 1972.
[ Her mother was Tatiana Bogdanova, who competed for the Soviet Union in shooting at European and World Championships, but did not compete at the Olympics. Elena has two sisters, Natasha and Maria, who are also shooters. She competed in the Soviet junior championships at the age of 18, placing third overall. In 1992, she moved to the United Kingdom where she married English international shooter Chris Little. She was later remarried to another fellow shooter Malcolm Allen.] She attended the University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...
, where she earned a degree in modern languages.
Shooting career
Allen won the bronze medal at the 2002 ISSF World Shooting Championships
The 48th ISSF World Shooting Championships were held in Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economi ...
in Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. In 2005, she set a world record for shooting which stood for seven years. She also won the gold medal at the World Cup event in Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, and a silver medal at the European Shooting Championships
The European Shooting Championships are the global sport shooting European championships as regards the disciplines of the sport shooting of the rifle (25, 50 and 300 m) and the pistol (25 and 50 m). Sometimes the competition also includes trap sho ...
. Allen shot for England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
, winning the bronze medal in the Women's skeet shooting competition. Competing for Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing, China, she placed in 13th position overall. She won two bronze medals at World Cup events in Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England, and in Italy in 2010.
In 2010 at the Commonwealth Championships held in New Delhi, she won Gold in the women's skeet event alongside her husband Malcolm Allen who also won Gold in the men's skeet event, the only time that a husband/wife had taken both titles.
At 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 ...
, she competed in the skeet
Skeet may refer to:
* Skeet shooting, a discipline of competitive clay pigeon shooting
** ISSF Olympic skeet, a variant used at the Olympic Games
People
* Skeet Childress (born 1979), American guitar player in the band Look What I Did
* Skeet Q ...
event. Following three qualifying rounds, she finished in 13th place. She felt that the pressure of the home crowd did not help, being unfamiliar with enthusiastic crowds. She hoped that the experience would help her in the pursuit of medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
. In the 2013 World Shotgun Championships The 2013 World Shotgun Championships were held in September 2013 in Lima, Peru. As in all odd-numbered years, separate ISSF World Shooting Championships were carried out in the Olympic trap, trap, Double Trap and Olympic skeet, skeet events.
Compet ...
in Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
she received a bronze medal in the individual skeet competition.
In the 2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
in Glasgow, Allen took silver in the women's skeet. She had switched her allegiance to the Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
team after qualifying for them through residency. At the World Championships during the same year, Allen placed second in the individual skeet event at the World Championships, being defeated to the gold medal by Brandy Drozd and a single target. This placing gave Great Britain a further place in the competition for the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The combined scores of Allen 73, Amber Hill
Amber Hill is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, approximately west-north-west from Boston. The 2001 Census measured its population at 268, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census.
History and governance
The name Amber Hill rep ...
72 and Sarah Gray
Sarah Gray (born 28 October 1990, Cambridge, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rower.
Under national coach Dick Tonks, Gray was placed in a women's quadruple scull with Fiona Bourke, Eve MacFarlane, and Louise Trappitt. They surprised themselves ...
68 won the team the overall gold medal in the competition.
Following that tournament, she was selected as part of the British team at the 2016 Olympics. At the Rio Olympics, she finished in 13th position following a breakdown in equipment.
Allen has been a member of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) athletes committee since 2017 and has been chairperson of the European Shooting Confederation (ESC) athletes committee since 2016
Her training regime includes walking, running and hill climbing.
Personal life
She was originally married to Chris Little before her subsequent marriage to Malcolm Allen, who also acts as her coach. She lives in Abercarn, Caerphilly, Wales.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Elena
1972 births
Living people
British female sport shooters
Olympic shooters for Great Britain
Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales
Shooters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
European Games competitors for Great Britain
Shooters at the 2015 European Games
Sport shooters from Moscow
British people of Russian descent
Welsh people of Russian descent
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
English female sport shooters
Welsh female sport shooters
Shooters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games medallists in shooting
Shooters at the 2019 European Games
Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
20th-century British sportswomen
21st-century British sportswomen