Aksana Miankova, also transliterated as Oksana Menkova, ( be, Аксана Мянькова, born 28 March 1982) is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

er. Her personal best of 78.69 m ranks her as the third best woman of all-time.

Career

Miankova began learning the hammer throw in her late teens. Women's hammer competitions were still a developing sport at that point and she soon won a number of regional competitions. She competed in the qualifying rounds of the

2002 European Athletics Championships The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was pa ...

and, after a silver medal at the

2003 European Athletics U23 Championships The 4th European Athletics U23 Championships were held in Bydgoszcz, Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium Zdzisław may refer to: People * Zdzisław (given name), a Slavic male given name Places * Zdzisław, Lubusz Voivodeship Zdzisł ...

, she represented Belarus at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Men's results T ...

. Her health suffered in the winter months during this period, however, and her lack of training time hindered her performance in her early career. She finished fifth at the 2005 Summer Universiade and took part in the 2007 World Championships without reaching the final. Miankova originally won the gold medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics with a throw of 76.34 metres, an

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

. In 2016, she was stripped of her Olympic medal after a re-analysis of her drug sample tested positive. On 25 November 2016 the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

disqualified her from both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and struck her results from the record for failing a drugs test in a re-analysis of her doping samples from 2008 and 2012. She missed some of the 2010 season due to taking maternity leave from the sport. She gave birth to a daughter, Arina Menkova, in September that year and she vowed to return to top form in 2011. Miankova had a personal best throw of 78.19 metres in April 2012 in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

. This was the third longest throw by a woman. She equalled this feat at the Olympic Champions meeting in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

two months later, then improved to 78.69 m in July, moving up to second of all time behind Betty Heidler.Dubitski, Mikhail (19 July 2012)
National records and world leads for Miankova and Ostapchuk in Minsk
IAAF. Retrieved on 20 July 2012.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miankova, Aksana 1982 births Living people People from Krychaw Belarusian female hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Belarus Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Doping cases in athletics Belarusian sportspeople in doping cases Sportspeople from Mogilev Region