Aliaksandra Viktarauna Herasimenia ( be, Аляксандра Віктараўна Герасіменя russian: Алекса́ндра Ви́кторовна Герасиме́ня;

Łacinka The Belarusian Latin alphabet or Łacinka (from be, лацінка or łacinka, BGN/PCGN: ''Latsinka'', ) for the Latin script in general is the common name for writing Belarusian using Latin script. It is similar to the Sorbian alphabet an ...

: Aliaksandra Viktaraŭna Hierasimienia / Aleksandra Gerasimenya; born 31 December 1985) is a Belarusian former

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. After a medal-winning career, including gold at the 2012 World Championships and silver at the 2012 London Olympics, she became a critic of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus, and now lives in exile in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Swimming career

Kazan 2015 - Aleksandra Gerasimenya 100m freestyle semi

She is 2 times olympic runner-up (

2012 London 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 ...

) in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle, Olympic bronze medalist ( 2016 Rio de Janeiro) in the 50-meter freestyle, World Champion ( 2011 Shanghai) in the 100-meter freestyle, World Champion (25m pool) ( 2012 Istanbul) in the 50-meter freestyle, European Champion ( 2010 Budapest) in the 50-meter backstroke, and 3 consecutive times Universiade Champion ( 2009 Belgrade, 2011 Shenzhen and 2013 Kazan) in the 50-meter freestyle. Despite a two-year ban for a positive test for norandrosterone in 2003, Gerasimenya returned to win gold medals at both, the European and World Championships. At the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synch ...

, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, tied with

Jeanette Ottesen Jeanette Ottesen (born 30 December 1987) is a Danish competitive swimmer who participated at the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. In total she has won 50 international medals. Records She currently holds the Danish record in the ...

of Denmark in a time of 53.45. 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, th ...

, she won silver medals in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.

Belarusian political activity

During the 2020 Belarusian protests, Herasimenia was responsible for youth and sports in '' National Anti-crisis Management'', a shadow government created by the Belarusian

Coordination Council Coordination Council may refer to: * Coordination Council (Afghanistan) * Coordination Council of Leftist Forces, a political alliance in Azerbaijan * Coordination Council (Belarus), an opposition council of Belarusians aiming to transfer power fr ...

for the peaceful transfer of power following the

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in off ...

. Herasimenia is a founder of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), a group that supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views. In April 2021, she sold her 2012 world championship gold medal to raise funds for the foundation and for legal fees after facing charges from the Belarus Government for criticising them on social media. She was one of the supporters of Belarusian sprinter, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was threatened with enforced return to Belarus from the Tokyo Olympics after criticising team coaches. Herasimenia sought assistance for Tsimanouskaya from a number of European embassies. In March 2022 Herasimenia stated her opposition to the Belarusian government’s involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Ukraine has never been our enemy, it is our fraternal people."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herasimenia, Aliaksandra 1985 births Living people Belarusian female butterfly swimmers Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of Belarus World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Belarusian female backstroke swimmers Belarusian female freestyle swimmers Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for Belarus Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Belarus Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Minsk Universiade gold medalists for Belarus Universiade silver medalists for Belarus Universiade bronze medalists for Belarus Competitors at the 2009 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2011 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2013 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade

Swimming career

Belarusian political activity

See also

References

External links