Lina Anatolyevna Cheryazova (russian: Лина Анатольевна Черязова, 1 November 1968 – 23 March 2019) was an Uzbek

freestyle skier Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and ...

who competed in aerials. She won a bronze medal at the 1990 European Championship and a gold medal at the 1993 World Championships before winning the gold medal at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

with a score of 166.84. So far she is the only athlete to have won a Winter Olympic medal while representing Uzbekistan. Her achievements earned her the title of ''Honored Athlete'' of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Cheryazova initially trained in gymnastics and trampolining, and took up freestyle skiing in 1987. She debuted at the World Cup in December 1989, and became the overall winner in the 1992–93 (winning six out of eight races) and 1993–94 seasons (winning six out of 11 races). In the summer of 1994, Cheryazova fractured her skull while training, and spent more than a month in a coma. She resumed competing in the autumn of 1995, but never regained her previous form. She retired after another injury sustained after the 1998 Olympics. In 1999 she moved to Novosibirsk,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, where she lived with her adopted daughter Alina. Cheryazova died on March 23, 2019, following a lengthy illness. She was 50.

References

1968 births 2019 deaths Uzbekistani female freestyle skiers Olympic freestyle skiers of Uzbekistan Freestyle skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Uzbekistan Sportspeople from Tashkent Olympic medalists in freestyle skiing Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics {{Uzbekistan-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub