Natalia Ishchenko
Natalya Sergejewna Ishchenko (Russian Наталья Сергеевна Ищенко; engl transcription. Natalia Sergeyevna Ishchenko; born April 8, 1986 in Smolensk, Soviet Union) is a Russian synchronized swimmer. She is 16- time World Champion, nine-time European champion and three -time Olympic medalist. In the years 2010 to 2012, she was consecutively elected by the FINA three times Athlete of the Year in the category " synchronized swimming ", which in 2011 together with her partner Svetlana Romashina China. She was also synchronized swimmer of the years 2009, 2010 and 2011; The prize was awarded by the European governing body for water sports, the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). Furthermore, since it is August 2012 recipient of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.
She is married to the silver medalist on the 3- meter board at the European Swimming Championships in 2004, the Russians Sergei Anikin. On November 3, 2013, the common son of the two was born.
Career
Born in the then Soviet city of Smolensk Ishchenko still began at a young age with the swimming and specialized in doing early on the synchronized swimming. When she first trained in this sport at the age of five years, it was predicted no glorious future, because it was simply too inflexible. After she was initially sent by parents of announces to rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming, they had to still early for one of the two sports decide, because the exercise of both was no longer (since very time-consuming ) possible. Her elder sister, Olga, even synchronized swimmer, she already supported in the early stages of their careers. At 14, she finally came to sports school in Moscow, which mainly specializes in synchronized swimming, and trained there for the first time under Tatiana Danchenko. In addition to her sporting career, she started studying sports science at the Baltic Federal University Immanuel Kant in Kaliningrad, which she also graduated later. Their first major international success in synchronized swimming she was able to record in 2004, when she won at the European Swimming Championships in 2004 behind the Frenchwoman Virginie Dedieu silver at the Solokür in synchronized swimming.
Larger Was finally followed in the following year at the synchronized swimming competitions of the 2005 Swimming Championships in Montreal. They won again in the Solokür before the Spaniard Gemma Mengual Civil and Virgine Dedieu behind the silver medal. In the discipline of " Free program - combination ", as well as in the team discipline Ishchenko won with the Russians the gold medal. In 2006 she continued her run of success, each with a gold medal in the disciplines of "Solo ", " team " and " combination " at the European Swimming Championships in 2006 continued. . Yet finally was successful in 2007 with the participation at the World Swimming Championships 2007 A new feature at the World Championships was the awarding separate medals for the technical and the free program; Moreover, the combination was added to the World Cup program. Ishchenko could during the tournament in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena Gold and four win a silver medal.
In 2008 she won the solo discipline during the European Swimming Championships 2008 in Eindhoven, the silver medal. About five months later, she took part for their country in synchronized swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; there she reached with her team the gold medal in the team discipline. With an Olympic medal in the luggage it was almost a year later at the World Swimming Championships in 2009 to Rome, where the young Russian was able to secure four gold medals the same. Only a year later, she made history when she became the first synchronized swimmer managed at the European Swimming Championships 2010 in Budapest in the history of the discharged since 1926 European Championships, winning all four disciplines. This year she was elected to the category " synchronized swimming " for the first time by FINA Athlete of the Year. In addition, she received after 2009 for the second year in a row the award for "LEN synchronized swimmer of the year". Your run of success continued the leader and the face of the Russian synchronized swimmers in the following year, when she was able to win at the World Swimming Championships 2011 in Shanghai equal to six of the eight gold medals of the Russian tournament. More awards followed with the re- awarding of the prize as " FINA Sportswoman of the Year 2011" and the award for " LEN synchronized swimmer of the year 2011", in which she shared the former price with her teammate and partner Svetlana Romashina China.
Four years after their first gold medal at the Olympic Games took the now 26- year-old Russian also participated in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, where she was listed with a height of 1.78 m and a weight of 55 kg. Previously, she took in May 2012 participated in the newly introduced European Championships in synchronized swimming, 2012 in Eindhoven, where she won a total of two gold medals ( Solo & Duet). In the Olympics, they could also prevail along with Roma China in the discipline " duet", followed by another gold medal in the team discipline. Once in October and November 2012, rumors surfaced about a possible career in the late 26 -year-olds, they were zunichtegemacht with the nomination Ischtschenkos in the Russian squad for the World Swimming Championships in 2013. After 2009 and 2011 Ishchenko was elected for the third time in 2012 by the Association of Russian sports journalists to "Russia's Female Athlete of the Year."
Natalya Sergejewna Ishchenko that is with 16 gold medals at the World Championships record holder, had to come off prematurely in Barcelona before the start of the World Cup, because it was expecting a child of her husband, the silver medalist on 3- meter board at the European Swimming Championships in 2004, Sergei Anikin, and with the participation did not want to jeopardize their health and that of her unborn child. Your role as a team leader took over their partner Svetlana Romashina China, which followed with a total of 14 gold medals won at the World Championships to the record holder. Already in May 2013, it was announced that the three -time Olympic champion wants to take a year off, a so-called sabbatical, and therefore does not compete at the World Championships in Barcelona. Beginning in June 2013 it was announced that Ishchenko was nominated by the Kaliningrad Oblast torch bearer for the torch of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. On November 3, 2013, the common son of the two top athletes came into the world.