Olena Bilosiuk,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Olena Pidhrushna ( uk, Олена Михайлівна Підгрушна, Olena Myxajlivna Pidhrušna; born 9 January 1987) is a Ukrainian

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

. She is

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

and

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

champion and multiple medalist in different high-level competitions. Pidhrushna is considered one of Ukraine's most successful winter sports athletes. She lives in

Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

Career

Her first international competition was 2005 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in

Monthey Monthey (; frp, Montê) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mention ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where she won two bronze medals, and 2005 Biathlon Junior World Championships in

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

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 ...

. Next season she missed internationally, but on 2 March 2007, she debuted in

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup, 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 Biathlon World Cup, 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons ...

by finishing 44th in sprint 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 economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

. She was enrolled in the national team for all three last World Cup stages that season but didn't gain any points. She didn't get a quota in the national team in 2007–08 season. That time she spent competing at

Biathlon European Championships The Biathlon European Championships are the top-european competitions in biathlon. The first edition was held in 1994, with sprint, pursuit, individual and relay. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Participation of non-E ...

and junior competitions. In 2008–09 season, she took part regularly in the relay team, and on 7 January 2009, she was in the winning relay team in German Oberhof. She represented Ukraine at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Her best result at that Games was rank 12 in

mass start {{refimprove, date=February 2018 Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in sport of athletics, speed skating, long-distance cross-country skiing and biathlon. There are usually many competitors in s ...

. 2012–13 season became one of her most successful. In the first sprint race of that season on 1 December 2012, Olena finished third in

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and was second in pursuit in Italian

Antholz-Anterselva Rasen-Antholz (; it, Rasun-Anterselva ) is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The municipal area stretches along the Antholz valley, a northern side valley of the larger Puster Valley. In the northeast, the Staller Saddl ...

in January 2013. Later on, Pidhrushna took a hat-trick of medals at the 2013 Biathlon World Championships, where she won the gold in the sprint, was part of the women's relay team which won silver, and secured a bronze in the pursuit. For these achievements, she was named Ukraine's best sportswoman of 2013. That season she ended ranking 8th in World Cup general classification. 2013–14 season started for her quite successfully, with one podium in January. Together with

Juliya Dzhyma Yuliia Dzhima ( uk, Юлія Валентинівна Джима; born 19 September 1990) is a Ukrainian World Cup level biathlete. She is Olympic champion in women's relay, multiple World championships medalist. She is one of the most successful ...

Valj Semerenko Valentyna Oleksandrivna Semerenko ( uk, Валентина Олександрівна Семеренко), known also as Valya Semerenko () and featuring in statistics as Valj Semerenko (born 18 January 1986) is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olym ...

and

Vita Semerenko Vita Semerenko ( uk, Віта Олександрівна Семеренко; born 18 January 1986) is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olympic champion in women's relay, Olympic medalist and multiple World championships medalist. She is one of the ...

, she won the gold medal in the Women's relay at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

, in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia. Pidhrushna took a break in her sports career at the end of the 2013–14 season and was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Ukrainian government. On 30 November 2014, she gave an interview for biathlon.com.ua, stating: "I took break in my sport career for a decree only. I can't do anything before the time the child will be born... so I must do something... I want fans to understand my decision and wait. I hope to be back in future, after the child will be born..." So she returned in November

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. Her attempts to have a child were then unsuccessful. Later she divorced her husband. Stamp of Ukraine s1368

She returned in 2015–16 season, which she started with two bronze medals in sprint and individual race in Swedish

. In mid-February she won sprint in Canmore,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. That year she achieved her best World Cup ranking – 7. Next season Pidhrushna didn't have plenty of good results, and she missed all races in March. She qualified to represent

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

. Pidhrushna carried the Ukrainian flag during the opening ceremony of the

. Due to poor physical conditions, she didn't compete in any race.

Biathlon results

Olympic Games

''1 medal (1 gold)''

World Championships

''5 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)''

World Cup

Individual podiums

Relay podiums

Rankings

Personal life

Olena was born in

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, but she spent her childhood in Velyka Berezovytsia near

. Her family had to move because her father was a military officer. She graduated from

Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University (commonly referred to as TNPU) is a university located in Ternopil, Ukraine. TNPU provides courses in the sciences and humanities with a focus on education and teaching. It offers pos ...

, where she studied physical training and sports. Now she is a Ph.D. student at

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 ...

. Pidhrushna married Oleksiy Kayda on 26 May 2013. Kayda is a member of

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(Ukraine's parliament) for the party Svoboda. According to Pidhrushna her husband was attacked in December 2013 by "provocateurs" during the

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

demonstrations."За Майдан" – біатлоністки підтримали українців на врученні золотих медалей

gazeta.ua ''Gazeta.ua'' ( uk, Газета по-українськи 'Newspaper in Ukrainian') is an illustrated newspaper based in Kyiv covering politics, economics, culture, sports, arts, and other different topics and aimed at Ukrainian-language reade ...

(08/12/2013) In October 2016 she declared that they divorced.Biathlete Olena Pidhrushna confirmed that she is divorced
(30 October 2016) During the awarding ceremony after her victory in the women's relay in Hochfilzen on 8 December 2013, she and other Ukrainian biathletes shouted "For Maidan". Pidhrushna gained at a news conference after her women's relay victory at the

a minute's silence in memory of the people who died in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in the February 2014 Euromaidan riots.Minute's silence respected at Ukraine news conference

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

(21 February 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilosiuk, Olena 1987 births Living people People from Legnica Dynamo Sports Club sportspeople Ukrainian female biathletes Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic biathletes for Ukraine Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in biathlon Olympic gold medalists for Ukraine Biathlon World Championships medalists Ukrainian sportsperson-politicians 21st-century Ukrainian women politicians Laureates of the Prize of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for special achievements of youth in the development of Ukraine Sportspeople from Lower Silesian Voivodeship