Vladislav Bykanov ( he, ולדיסלב ביקנוב, uk, Владислав Биканов) (born 19 November 1989) is an Israeli Olympic short track speed skater. He won the gold medal in the 3,000m at the 2015 and 2018 European Championships. He competed for Israel at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He also competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in

Short Track Speed Skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He competed for Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Early and personal life

Bykanov was born in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

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 ...

, and is Jewish. He moved to Israel in 1994 and has lived there ever since. Bykanov lives in the northern Israeli city of

Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona ( he, קִרְיַת שְׁמוֹנָה, ''lit.'' Town of the Eight) is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The city was named after the eight people, inclu ...

, and in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

, the Netherlands.Jenn Virskus
"Fresh off a gold in Europe, Israeli speed skater reveals his 'biggest dream'"
/ref> He studied Economics and Management at

Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel ( he, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (C ...

.Short Track Speed Skating , Athlete Profile: Vladislav BYKANOV - Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
/ref> His nickname is Vlad.

Skating career

His coach is Jeroen Otter. Bykanov started skating when he was eight years old, in

Northern Israel The Northern District ( he, מחוז הצפון, ''Mekhoz HaTzafon''; ar, منطقة الشمال, ''Minṭaqat ash-Shamāl'') is one of Israel's Districts of Israel, six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478&n ...

. In 2007, Bykanov broke an ankle and missed three months. In 2011 he again broke an ankle and missed four months. In 2015 he had hip surgery and was out for eight months; in 2016 he had another hip operation. Bykanov qualified to compete for Israel at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in all three individual races. By doing so, he became the first male athlete to qualify from Israel in short track speed skating. He was Israel's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. He came in 19th in the 500m, 24th in the 1,000m, and 25th in the 1,500m. He had his best showing in the 500m in a World Championship in the 2014 World Championship in Montreal, coming in 13th. Bykanov had his other best World Championship showings in the 2016 World Championship in Seoul, coming in 13th in the 1,000m, 15th in the 1,500m, and 15th overall. Bykanov became the first Israeli short track skater to finish in the top three at the European Championships when he won the gold medal in the 3,000m super final in 2015 in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

, Netherlands, with a time of 5 minutes 2.882 seconds, ahead of Thibaut Fauconnet of France."Israeli Vladislav Bykanov became European Short Track Champion,"
kanal24.az. At the 2017 European Championships, he won a bronze medal in the 1,500m.Allon Sinai
">"Israeli skater Bykanov wins European bronze,"
''The Jerusalem Post''. At the January 2018 European Championships in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany, Bykanov won the gold medal in the 3,000m, the silver medal in the Overall competition, and the bronze medal in the 1,500m."Bykanov hits top form; Vladislav Bykanov continued his preparations for the Winter Olympics in South Korea by winning two medals at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Germany."
/ref> He also came in 5th in the 500m, and 21st in the 1,000m. Bykanov competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in

in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He will compete for Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Personal records

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bykanov, Vladislav 1989 births Living people Israeli male short track speed skaters Olympic short track speed skaters of Israel Short track speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Jewish Ukrainian sportspeople Jewish Israeli sportspeople Ukrainian male speed skaters People from Kiryat Shmona Sportspeople from Lviv Ukrainian emigrants to Israel Open University of Israel alumni