Track Beauty of the Week: Elizaveta Savlinis Елизавета Савлинис

Elizaveta Savlinis Елизавета Савлинис is this week's Track Beauty!

Photo from Rifat Junisov/Рифат Юнисов

Savlinis specializes in the 200m dash. Her breakout year in the half-lap came in 2012, when she went under the 23-second barrier for the first time in her career. Elizaveta has a personal best of 22.62s, which she set in 2011 and 2012.[1]

The 25-year old is a fixture in the formidable Russian relay squad. She was part of the 4x100m relay team that finished in fifth place at the Daegu World Championships.[2] Although the Russian women were surely capable of bigger things in light of their stories pedigree in the team events, they did set a season's best of 42.78s in the qualifying round. 

Her best finish in her specialist event is sixth place in the Daegu World Championships. She made her Olympic debut in London this year, but her qualifying time of 23.23s was good enough for only fifth in her heat.[2]

References:

1. "Elizabeta Savlinis." http://www.iaaf.biz/athletes/biographies/country=rus/athcode=239744/index.html. Retrieved 12-16-2012. 
2. "2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_World_Championships_in_Athletics_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_4_%C3%97_100_metres_relay. Retrieved 12-16-2012.
3. "Elizabeta Savlinis." 

Track Beauty of the Week: Yuliya Gushchina Ю́лия Гу́щина

Yuliya Gushchina Ю́лия Гу́щина is this week's Track Beauty!

Photo from Erik van Leeuwen

The sprinter has been a fixture in Russia's crack relay squads for the past years. As a junior, Gushchina won a hard fought 4x400m relay bronze at the World Junior Championships in Kingston. [1] The Russian women, a proven power in the long relays, followed this up with European Junior title the next year. [2] Ever since 2005, Yuliya has been part of almost all of Russia's major senior championship relay teams. 

To date, Gushchina had won 4x400m relay golds at the European Championships (2006) and the World Indoors (2008). Her campaign at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was remarkably fruitful, having been part of the gold medal-winning Russian 4x100m relay quartet. [3] Yuliya also had a 4x400m relay silver and a fourth place finish in the individual 400m dash. [4]

Yuliya is well-known for her versatility. She has personal bests of 11.13s, 22.53s, and 49.28s in the 100m, 200m, and the 400m, respectively. [5] Since her 200m dash silver at the 2006 European Championships, Gushchina have not managed a return to the medal podium in an individual event.

References:

1. "Yuliya Gushchina." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuliya_Gushchina. Retrieved 10-24-2012.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Yuliya Gushchina." http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=187560/index.html. Retrieved 10-24-2012.

Track Beauty of the Week: Tatiana Grigorieva Татьяна Григорьев

Tatiana Grigorieva Татьяна Григорьев is this week's Track Beauty!

As a 15-year old kid back in 2000, one of the very first athletics articles I've read was about the glamor couple of Grigorieva and Viktor Chistiakov Виктор Чистяков. Grigorieva was one of the most stunning female athletes ever to grace the sport. Hence, it is about time that she gets some air time in Track Beauty of the Week. More importantly, the Russian-born Australian was an early pole vault pioneer.

Prior to making the big shift to vaulting, Grigorieva was a talented intermediate hurdler [1]. She took up pole vaulting when the couple migrated to Australia in 1997. [2] In light of her hurdling background and natural athleticism, her improvement in the relatively new discipline took dramatic turns in her first few years. From clearing 3.90m in 1997, Grigorieva attained a new personal best of 4.50m in 1999, two years after taking up vaulting. [3]

Grigorieva won the silver medal for her adopted country at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the first time the event was held for female athletes. Tatiana soared over 4.55m to clinch silver behind American Stacey Dragila (4.60m). In a pole vault career spanning almost 10 years, Tatiana had amassed two Australian titles (1999 and 2001), a Commonwealth Games silver (2006), and a Commonwealth Games title (2002). [4] 

References:

1. "Tatiana Grigorieva." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatiana_Grigorieva. Retrieved 10-3-2012.
2. Ibid. 
3. "Iaaf.org - Athletes - Tatiana Grigorieva." http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=136035/index.html. Retrieved 10-3-2012.
4. "Tatiana Grigorieva."

Maria Kirilenko Мари́я Кириле́нко (RUS, Tennis)

Maria Kirilenko Мари́я Кириле́нко is part of the formidable array of Russian tennis players. Kirilenko turned professional in 2001. Since then, she has collected around $4.8 million in prize money, on top of her modelling and endorsements. 

Kirilenko at the 2009 U.S. Open. (Photo from Charlie Cowin)

With her tennis talent and good looks, Maria has the potential to follow the footsteps of the other, more illustrious Maria in the circuit.

To date, she has triumphed in five WTA tournaments and three ITF competitions. The right-handed Kirilenko reached her highest ever ranking of No. 15 at the WTA tour last May. She is currently the World No. 19. Maria won her first WTA crown in 2002, a year after turning pro. 

Her best ever finish in a Grand Slam tournament was the Australian Open quarter finals in 2010. She dueled against good friend Maria Sharapova in the second round and won 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4. Kirelenko has also reached the fourth rounds of the French Open (2010 and 2011) and U.S Open (2011), and the third round in Wimbledon (2010, 2011, 2012).

Source:
Wikipedia Profile

Yaroslava Shvedova Яросла́ва Шве́дова (KAZ, Tennis)

The display of raw emotion punctuates the pursuit of sport. I admire athletes who do not shirk away from their emotions, and instead display what they are feeling in a bluntly, honest way. Yaroslava Shvedova Яросла́ва Шве́дова is one of those athletes.

Shvedova at the Citi Open Tennis tournament. (Photo from Keith Allison)

After an injury-plagued 2011 season, the Russian-born Kazakh barged into the quarter-finals of the French Open. When she defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round, Shvedova shed tears of joy. In a post-match WTA interview, she explained her reaction: "It has been so tough to come back after losing everything. I was so happy to achieve the same results as I did in my peak in 2010. I cried because it has been very hard work, but this makes all the hard work worthwhile."

The Kazakh went on to beat defending champion Li Na, but faltered against Petro Kvitova in the quarterfinals. 

Since turning professional in 2002, Shvedova has won one WTA and three ITF titles. In 2010, her ranking rose to as high as 29th, but fell after she succumbed to injury. She is currently ranked 65th overall, after her quarterfinals run in Roland Garros.

Sources:

Wikipedia

WTA interview

Godspeed, Darya!

According to Darya Klishina's (Дарья Клишина) Facebook page, Darya has been training in the Russian resort town of Sochi. Her status updates seem upbeat and positive. Judging from the training clip below, it seems as if Darya has shrugged off the ill-effects of the injury she sustained last year. 

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина"

The Olympic long jump competition will be tough, considering the fact that five women have jumped beyond seven meters outdoors this year. Darya, according to the IAAF statistics, apparently has not made her outdoor debut yet. Is she hiding her cards right up until the last possible moment? 

Read: "Darya Klishina: The Next Big Track & Field Star"

Darya en route to fourth place finish at the Istanbul World Indoors. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)

As the London Olympic Games near, the prospect of a nail-biting long jump grows more exciting with each passing day. 

Godspeed, Darya!

Darya Klishina and Superb Senora

I began to feature notable female athletics stars in my main blog, hurdler49, to promote the mostly underrated sport. In July 2010, I wrote about the upcoming Russian long jumper Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина . In a few months' time, her popularity shot up exponentially - and so did my blog hits. Darya is both tremendously talented and possesses super-model looks. Although she has yet to win a world title or an Olympic title, her popularity has skyrocketed dramatically.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина"

   

Photos from IAAF and Life

I started Superb Senora as an offshoot of the original Track Beauty of the Week feature. This time around, I'll be writing about talented women from sports other than athletics in a tone that's respectful of the fairer sex. Darya, in a sense, started it all. 

Read: "Darya Klishina: The Next Big Track & Field Star

   

Photos from Erik van Leeuwen and Darya Klishina Facebook fan club

Darya has had a stellar junior and youth career. She topped the World Youth Championships in 2007, registering an impressive mark of 6.47m. She improved dramatically in the subsequent years, as shown by her splendid performance at the 2009 European Junior Championships. Darya flew 6.80m, beating hometown favorite Ivana Spanovic. 

In the junior all-time list, the Russian is second only to the great Heike Dreschler.

Read: "Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина on Trans World Sport"

   

  Photos from Rusathletics.com and EAA

Klishina was propelled into the mainstream in 2011, when the Russian topped the high profile European Indoor Championships in Paris. Darya added the European U23 title for good measure, setting a personal best of 7.05m. Unfortunately, Klishina was hobbled by an ankle injury at the latter parts of 2011. She only managed a sub-par 6.50m best leap at the Daegu World Championships, way below her personal best of 7.05m.

Read: Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина leaps 6.80m, wins European Indoor Long Jump gold

Darya underwent ankle surgery after the world championships. Her strong showing at the 2012 World Indoors, where she finished in fourth place (6.85m), is a strong signal that Klishina is on the fast track towards full recovery - and further forays beyond seven meters.

Read: London Olympics Long Jump Preview

The battle for the London Olympics gold medal will be a tough one, especially with the classy Brittney Reese in the field. A healthy Darya, however, would be a sight to behold. Despite her injury, Klishina has shown signs of maturity as she moves up the senior ranks.

A podium finish is a strong certainty, but Darya Klishina might just snag the Olympic gold!