Valentin Demyanenko (), born 23 October 1983 in Cherkasy, is a former

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

-born Azerbaijani flatwater canoeist. He is a four times world champion, three times European champion and silver medalist of

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in C-1 200 metres.

Career

Demyanenko was a late developer and only came to prominence in 2004 with a shock victory in the C-1 500m final at the European under-23 championships in Poznań, Poland. His time of under 1:50 was comparable with those recorded by the finalists at the Athens Olympics. In 2005 his coaches judged he was ready to take on the seniors but no one expected what was to follow. In his first international appearance as a senior he won a silver medal at the 2005 European championships in the C-1 200m sprint, just one tenth of a second behind the three-times champion

Maxim Opalev Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

of Russia. The following month, at the

2005 Flatwater Racing World Championships The 2005 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Zagreb, Croatia, in August 2005. Men race as individuals, pairs and quads over 200m, 500m and 1000m in both Canoe (Canadian) (C) and Kayak (K) events, giving a total of 18 gold medals ...

at Zagreb, Croatia, he was entered in two events. In the C-1 500m he came fourth. Then in the C-1 200m final he turned the tables on Opalev, winning the final in a time of 39.264 seconds. After these successes Demyanenko began to concentrate on the C1 500m in preparation for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, where there would be no 200m races. He didn't appear at the 2006 European Senior Championships; instead he was entered for the under-23 championships in Schinias, Greece, where he won the C1 500m silver medal. At the senior World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, however he returned to the 200m distance to defend his title. This time he finished in the silver medal position. In both events he was beaten by Russia's

Nikolay Lipkin Nikolay Lipkin (russian: Николай Липкин, born 20 May 1985 in Kasimov, Ryazan Oblast) is a Russian sprint canoeist who has competed since 2003. He received a four-year ban for steroid doping, and was stripped of a ti ...

.http://en.trend.az/news/sports/1525855.html Trend

References

External links

* * * Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Cherkasy Ukrainian male canoeists Azerbaijani male canoeists Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Azerbaijan ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian European Games medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2015 European Games European Games silver medalists for Azerbaijan Ukrainian emigrants to Azerbaijan Naturalized citizens of Azerbaijan Olympic silver medalists for Azerbaijan Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics {{Azerbaijan-canoe-bio-stub