Olena PETROVA

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Olena Petrova switched to competing for Ukraine when she was unable to land a spot on the strong Russian team. She débuted on the World Cup circuit in 1992, and competed through 2007. She was very successful at World Championships, despite never winning a title, collecting four silver medals and six bronze ones, of which seven were in team or relay events. Her best edition was the 1996 Worlds in Ruhpolding, when she took home a silver medal and two bronzes. At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, her usual strong shooting landed her a silver medal in the 15 km competition. Petrova's best World cup season came in 1999/2000, when she placed seventh overall and second in the mass start World Cup. She never won a World Cup race individually, but was on one relay champion in 1999 and had a total of 29 podium places. Petrova, who also won the 2004 European pursuit title, retired in 2007 to become a youth coach.