Yuliya Nesterenko (alt. spelling: Yulia Nestsiarenka, née Bartsevich ( be, Юлія Несцярэнка, ; russian: Юлия Нестеренко, ; born 15 June 1979) is a Belarusian sprinter, Olympic 100 meters champion of 2004. Nesterenko won the women's

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens in 10.93 seconds, becoming the first non-black athlete to win the event since the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. She ran all four times (two qualification rounds, semifinal and final) under 11 seconds.Athlete biography: Yuliya Nestsiarenka
/ref> After the Olympic games in Athens she took an almost year-long break. At the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

in Helsinki she reached the final in the 100 metres, though came only 8th (11.13 seconds). She won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in another event, the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

, together with her compatriots Natallia Solohub, Alena Neumiarzhitskaya and Aksana Drahun. At the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

she was 6th in the 100m final and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. 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, Nesterenko competed in the 100m again. In her first round heat she came 2nd behind Kim Gevaert in a time of 11.40 to advance to the second round. There she improved down to 11.14 seconds, but finished 4th, normally causing elimination, however hers was the fastest losing time and enough to qualify for the semifinals. She came close to reaching the final to defend her title with a time of 11.26, 5th place, while the first four athletes qualified for the final. Together with Aksana Drahun, Nastassia Shuliak and Anna Bagdanovich she took part in the 4 × 100m relay. In their first round heat they placed 6th with a time of 43.69 seconds, which was the 9th overall out of 16 countries. With this result they failed to qualify for the final. Nesterenko is a member of the Belarus Olympic Committee.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nestsiarenka, Yulia 1979 births Living people Belarusian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Belarus Olympic gold medalists for Belarus Sportspeople from Brest, Belarus World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female sprinters