Yelena Valeryevna Välbe (russian: Елена Валерьевна Вяльбе, née ''Trubitsyna''; born 20 April 1968) is a Russian former cross-country skier. She won a record-high 14 gold, including all five golds at the 1997 World Championships. She also won three Olympic gold medals and four bronze medals in various

Winter Olympic Games 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 he ...

as well as four

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Crystal Globes. She has been president of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association since 2010, and manager of the Russian National cross-country team since 2012. ''

White Snow ''White Snow'' (russian: Белый снег, Bely sneg) is a 2020 Russian biographical sports drama film directed by Nikolay Khomeriki. The film is based on real events that happened at the 1997 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. For the first time in ...

'', a biographical sports drama about Välbe, was released in 2020–21. She was elected to the FIS Council in 2021, but after she in 2022 supported the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, a number of European Ski Federations objected to her participation in the 2022 election, her nomination was publicly opposed by representatives of Sweden, Poland, and Finland, and she was removed from the position after she garnered the fewest votes.

Career

Summary

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 ...

, Välbe won a record-high fourteen gold (1989: 10 km freestyle, 30 km; 1991: 10 km, 15 km, 4 ×5 km relay; 1993: 15 km, 4 × 5 km relay; 1995: 30 km, 4 x 5 km relay), and three silver medals (1989: 4 × 5 km relay, 1991: 30 km, 1995: 15 km), including all five golds at the 1997 championships in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

(5 km, 5 km + 10 km combined pursuit, 15 km, 30 km, and 4 × 5 km relay). She also won three gold (all in relays) and four bronze medals in various

as well as the

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

five times (1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997). Välbe also won the 5 km (1991) and 15 km (1992) competitions 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 ...

. She received the Holmenkollen medal in 1992.

After retirement

In 2010, Välbe was elected as President of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association. – FIS 29 June 2010 article accessed 30 June 2010. Late in 2012 she got the position of manager for the Russian cross-country team towards 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. She was also manager for the Russian team during the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. She was elected to the FIS Council in 2021, but after she in 2022 supported the

Cross-country skiing results

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

Olympic Games

* 7 medals – (3 gold, 4 bronze)

World Championships

* 17 medals – (14 gold, 3 silver)

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

*45 victories *81 podiums

Team podiums

* 24 victories – (24 ) * 32 podiums – (30 , 2 ) Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Personal life

Formerly she was married to

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 ...

n cross-country skier Urmas Välbe. Together they had one child, Franz. She then married Maxim Dovolnov and gave birth to Polina and Varvara. She now lives in

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

.Глава Федерации лыжных гонок России Елена Вяльбе, которой исполнилось 50 лет
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In popular culture

*''

'' – a biographical sports drama film about Välbe.

References

External links

* * - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file * - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Välbe, Yelena 1968 births Living people People from Magadan Cross-country skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Russian female cross-country skiers Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic bronze medalists for the Unified Team Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic cross-country skiers of Russia Olympic cross-country skiers of the Unified Team Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Cross-Country World Cup champions Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Honoured Coaches of Russia Sportspeople from Magadan Oblast