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Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
LW12
Further personal information
Family
Husband Sergiy Khyzhnyak
Residence
Kiev, UKR
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
Russian, Ukrainian
Higher education
Sport Studies - Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi State Pedagogical University: Ukraine
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
At age 13 she took up sitting volleyball. She then took up para-skiing and biathlon at age 16 in Kiev after she had been in the mountains for the first time and loved it.
Why this sport?
Once she tried the sport she found it addictive and wanted to keep on doing it.
Club / Team
Invasport: Kiev, UKR
Name of coach
Valery Kazakov
Coach from which country?
Ukraine
International debut
Year
2001
Competing for
Ukraine
General interest
Nicknames
Lena (invasport.org.ua, 22 Oct 2013)
Hobbies
Spending time with her family, fishing with friends. (other.sport.ua, 11 Mar 2010; naiu.org.ua, 01 Apr 2010)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning the first of her four gold medals won at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin. (Athlete, 13 Mar 2014)
Most influential person in career
Her mother, and her coach. (other.sport.ua, 23 Mar 2010; Athlete, 13 Mar 2014)
Hero / Idol
Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen. (Athlete, 13 Mar 2014)
Injuries
She injured her shoulder and elbow joints at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. (other.sport.ua, 11 Mar 2010)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Never stop striving to achieve your goals." (Athlete, 13 Mar 2014)
Awards and honours
She holds the title of Honoured Master of Sport in Ukraine. (invasport.org.ua, 22 Oct 2013)
She was Ukraine's flagbearer at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (sportaso.info, 13 Mar 2010)
In 2006 she was given the highest decoration of Ukraine, the title of Hero of Ukraine. (gorod.cn.ua, 23 Feb 2009)
She was Ukraine's flagbearer at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (sportaso.info, 13 Mar 2010)
In 2006 she was given the highest decoration of Ukraine, the title of Hero of Ukraine. (gorod.cn.ua, 23 Feb 2009)
Other sports
She was a member of Ukraine's sitting volleyball team at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. She has also competed in both para-biathlon and cross-country skiing. (other.sport.ua, 23 Mar 2010; Paralympic.org, 2014)
Famous relatives
Her husband Sergiy Khyzhnyak also competed in para-Nordic skiing and participated in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. In 2013, he switched to shooting. (goroduman.com, 23 Mar 2010; invasport.org.ua, 22 Oct 2013; Athlete, 17 Jan 2014)
Impairment
She had chickenpox at age three. Complications from the illness were so serious that doctors had to amputate her legs. (gorod.cn.ua, 23 Feb 2009; Athlete, 13 Mar 2014)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 7.5 km Sitski | Final Round | 2 | ||
| Women's 10 km Sitski | Final Round | 3 | ||
| Women's 5 km Sitski | Final Round | 3 | ||
| Women's 2.5 km Sitski | Final Round | 3 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 2.5 km Sitski | Final Round | 1 | ||
| Women's 5 km Sitski | Final Round | 1 | ||
| Women's 10 km Sitski | Final Round | 2 | ||
| Women's 3x2.5 km Relay Open | Final Round | 3 | ||
| Women's 7.5 km Sitski | Final Round | 1 | ||
| Women's 10 km Sitski | Final Round | 1 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 1 km Sprint Sitting | Final Round | 2 | ||
| Women's 5 km Sitting | Final Round | 4 | ||
| Women's 10 km Sitting | Final Round | 3 | ||
| Women's 3x2.5 km Relay Open | Final Round | 2 | ||
| Women's 10 km Individual Sitting | Final Round | 2 | ||
| Women's 2.4 km Pursuit Sitting | Qualification | 1 | ||
| Women's 2.4 km Pursuit Sitting | Final Round | 1 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Sprint - Classic Sitting | Final | 2013-02-25 | 2 | |
| Women's Short Distance Sitting | Final | 2013-02-28 | 1 | |
| Women's Middle Distance Sitting | Final | 2013-03-01 | 1 | |
| Women's Long Distance Sitting | Final | 2013-03-03 | 3 | |
| Women's Middle Distance - Classic Sitting | Final | 2013-03-05 | 9 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 6 km Sitting | Final Round | 2014-03-08 | 3 | |
| Women's 10 km Sitting | Final Round | 2014-03-11 | 4 | |
| Women's 1 km Sprint Sitting | Semifinal | 2014-03-12 | 12 | |
| Women's 12.5 km Sitting | Final Round | 2014-03-14 | 3 | |
| 4x2.5 km Open Relay | Final Round | 2014-03-15 | 2 | |
| Women's 5 km Sitting | Final Round | 2014-03-16 | 14 |