Svetlana PARAMYGINA

Svetlana Paramygina took up biathlon in 1983 and rose to the Soviet national team in 1989 after winning her first Soviet title. After the fall of Soviet Union, Paramygina elected to represent Belarus due to fierce competition within the Russian national team and she represented Belarus until the end of her career in 2001. During her career, Paramygina won the Olympic sprint silver in 1994 and World team titles in 1990, 1991 and 1994. She also won silver in the team event and bronze at 15 km at the 1993 World Championships. At the European Championships, Paramygina won the 20 km title in 1995, pursuit silver in 2000, and relay bronze in 1996 and she also won the relay titles at the 1998 and 2000 World Summer Biathlon Championships. Paramygina was the overall World Cup winner in 1993-94 and was runner-up in 1994-95. In 1994 she was also elected as Belarussian female athlete-of-the-year. Paramygina graduated from the Belarussian State University with a journalism degree in 2002 and later worked as a journalist with the Belarussian sports newspaper Pressball. She has also worked as a biathlon commentator with Belarus National Television.