Victoria Anatoliïvna Tereshchuk (''Терещук Вікторія Анатоліївна''; born 18 February 1982) is a female former

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...

from

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 inv ...

. A competitor since 1999 she was awarded a bronze medal in the women's modern pentathlon event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

but was subsequently stripped of the medal after a doping re-test. She was World Champion in the individual and mixed relay events in 2011. For her World Championship victories, she was named Ukrainian Sportswoman of the Year and received the

Order of Princess Olga The Order of Princess Olga ( uk, Орден княгині Ольги) is a Ukrainian civil decoration, featuring Olga of Kiev and bestowed to women for "personal merits in state, production, scientific, educational, cultural, charity and other ...

in the Second Class. She is also the 2008 European Champion and competed at the 2004 and 2012 Olympic modern pentathlon tournaments, where she finished seventh and twenty-third respectively.

Personal life

Tereshchuk was born on 18 February 1982 in

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

. She took up modern pentathlon in 1999 and began competing out of ZS Luhansk, where she met her coach Sergey Turobov. Of all the constituent events of modern pentathlon, she considered swimming and the cross-country run to be her specialties and fencing, Turobov's specialty, to be her weakest. She married Turobov in 2005 and missed the 2009 season to have a son.

International career

Tereshchuk participated in her first major international competition in August 2001 when she entered the Junior World Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and placed 12th. Her first senior World Championship was the 2003 edition, held in Pesaro,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where she finished 27th, and her first senior European Championship came the following month in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, where she came in 34th. She earned her first podium finish in December when she came in second at a World Cup event, followed by her first victory at the Westel World Cup in May 2004. After coming in 6th at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

later that month in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

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 ...

, her next stop was the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she finished in 7th. At the next three European Championships, Tereshchuk finished 30th, 18th, and 16th, and placed 12th at the 2005 World Championships in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. She claimed her first World Championship medal, silver, at the 2006 edition in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

, Guatemala, but then dropped to 34th and 26th the following year at the European and

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Championships respectively. In 2008, she finished 23rd in the individual and 7th in the three-member team relay events at the 2008 World Championships in Budapest, but became the European Champion at a tournament held in Moscow. This led to her participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded a bronze medal in the women's event, finishing behind

Lena Schöneborn Lena Schöneborn (born April 11, 1986 in Troisdorf, West Germany) is a German pentathlete, who won the gold medal in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is living in Berlin and besides Pentathlon she is studying Marketing. She ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Heather Fell Heather Fell (born 3 March 1983 in Plymouth, England) is a former British modern pentathlete turned triathlete. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal in the women's modern pentathlon event. Early life Fell grew up ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. She was subsequently stripped of the medal after testing positive for the anabolic steroid

turinabol Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (dehyd ...

in a doping re-test. After missing the 2009 season to have a child, Tereshchuk returned in 2010 and finished second in that year's mixed relay event at the

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

, China, in addition to placing 16th in the individual competition. In 2011, she came in third at the European Championships before winning three medals at the

in Moscow: gold in the individual and mixed relay events and bronze in the three-member team relay. As World Champion, she qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, was named Ukrainian Sportswoman of the Year, and was awarded the

in the Second Class. At the 2012 World Championships in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, however, she failed to qualify for the finals and was eliminated before she was able to defend her individual title, also placing 5th in the mixed relay. In the Olympic tournament that year she finished 23rd in a field of 36 competitors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tereshchuk, Victoria 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Luhansk Ukrainian female modern pentathletes Modern pentathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic modern pentathletes for Ukraine World Modern Pentathlon Championships medalists Doping cases in modern pentathlon Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Recipients of the Order of Princess Olga, 2nd class