Larisa Ilchenko
Encyclopedia
Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko (born 18 November 1988 in Volgograd
) is a Russia
n long distance swimmer. She had won eight World Championships and the 2008 Olympics
at age 19.
She has dominated long distance swimming since her first World Championships Dubai 2004, where she won by over 30 seconds aged 16. The next year in Montreal, she had a much tougher time as the veterans pushed her under and held her up, but still won with a final sprint. This has been the pattern of all her subsequent victories, battling her way through the pack before sprinting clear at the end. She doubled up in Napoli 2006 to become both the 5 km and 10 km open water world champion. She has won both 5 km and 10 km events at all subsequent World Championships. The American magazine Swimming World
named her open water swimmer of the year in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
She won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics in the swimming 10 km, using her trademark closing kick after being behind the leaders for 9,900 meters of the 10,000-meter swim.
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n long distance swimmer. She had won eight World Championships and the 2008 Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
at age 19.
She has dominated long distance swimming since her first World Championships Dubai 2004, where she won by over 30 seconds aged 16. The next year in Montreal, she had a much tougher time as the veterans pushed her under and held her up, but still won with a final sprint. This has been the pattern of all her subsequent victories, battling her way through the pack before sprinting clear at the end. She doubled up in Napoli 2006 to become both the 5 km and 10 km open water world champion. She has won both 5 km and 10 km events at all subsequent World Championships. The American magazine Swimming World
Swimming World magazine
Swimming World Magazine is an American-based monthly swimming magazine, that was first published in a magazine format as Junior Swimmer in January of 1960...
named her open water swimmer of the year in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
She won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
Olympics in the swimming 10 km, using her trademark closing kick after being behind the leaders for 9,900 meters of the 10,000-meter swim.