Elena Tkachenko (born July 31, 1983 in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

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 inva ...

) is an Individual

Rhythmic Gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

who competed for

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 ...

Career

Tkachenko started doing gymnastics in

at age 8 years old, which is by some standards is considered late for rhythmic gymnastics development. At 10 years old, she and her family moved to

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

where she met her first coach Liubov Serebrianskaya. When she turned 16, she got an opportunity to move to

through the idea appeared after the conversations between Liubov Serebrianskaya and Belarus Head coach

Irina Leparskaya Irina Yuryevna Leparskaya ( be, Ірына Юреўна Лепарская, russian: Ирина Юрьевна Лепарская, born July 27, 1957 in Novorossiysk, Russian SSR, Soviet Union) is a rhythmic gymnastics trainer who is the Head coac ...

. Tkachenko has said "I couldn't show my talent on my homeland. On National competitions I took 13-15 places and when I went to international competitions, I was often higher than other Ukrainian girls. So when I was asked if I want to move to Minsk, I said with no doubts : "Yes!". Tkachenko's move to Belarus changed her rankings dramatically within a year she became No.3 gymnast in Belarus and No.2 after the retirement of Lera Vatkina. She began competing in more international competitions and with the year 2001 becoming her most successful season winning silver in clubs at the 2001 World Championships in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and 4 bronze medals at the

2001 World Games The 2001 World Games ( ja, 2001年ワールドゲームズ, 2001-Nen wārudogēmuzu), the sixth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Akita, Japan. Titles 140 titles (invitational sports not included) were awarded in th ...

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Tkachenko completed her career in 2002 season.

References

External links

Rhythmic Gymnastics Results
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tkachenko, Elena 1983 births Living people Belarusian rhythmic gymnasts Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships World Games bronze medalists Competitors at the 2001 World Games 21st-century Belarusian women