Larisa Ilchenko

Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko (Russian: Лариса Дмитриевна Ильченко; born 18 November 1988) is a Russian long-distance swimmer. She has won eight world titles and a gold at the 2008 Olympics.[1]

Larisa Ilchenko

Personal information
Born	18 November 1988 (age 32) Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	Volga Swimming Club
Medal record Women's Open water Representing  Russia Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 8 1 1 European Championships 0 0 1 Universiade 0 0 0 Total 9 1 2 Olympic Games 2008 Beijing 10 km World Championships 2004 Dubai 5 km 2005 Montreal 5 km 2006 Napoli 5 km 2006 Napoli 10 km 2007 Melbourne 5 km 2007 Melbourne 10 km 2008 Seville 5 km 2008 Seville 10 km 2009 Rome 5 km 2004 Dubai Team 5 km European Championships 2006 Budapest 5 km

Biography

Ilchenko has dominated long distance swimming since her first World Championships in Dubai, 2004 where, aged just 16 won by over 30 seconds . The following 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.[2] This has been the pattern of all her subsequent victories, battling her way through the pack before sprinting clear at the end.[3] 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.[4] For this and other achievements, she was awarded the Order of Friendship in 2009.[5]

After sustaining an injury in 2009 and hypothermia at the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships, she de facto retired. In August 2012 she married a Russian swimmer Sergey Perunin.[6] In September 2012 she was inducted to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.[7] And in 2016 she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

International medals

She won 10 medals at the World Open Water Swimming Championships.[8]

Championship	Edition	5 km	10 km	Team 5 km
Olympic Games	2008 Beijing
World Championships	2004 Dubai
	2005 Montreal
	2006 Naples
	2007 Melboune
	2008 Sevilla
	2009 Rome
European Championships	2006 Budapest

See also

• World Open Water Championships - Multiple medalists

References

1. Lara Ilchenko. sports-reference.com
2. Ilchenko, Lurz Capture 5K Open-Water Crowns at World Championships Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Swimmingworld Magazine (2005-08-18).
3. Trademark Finish Seals Another Gold for Ilchenko. 10kswim.blogspot.jp (2008-09-10)
4. NBC Coverage of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. 10kswim.blogspot.jp (2008-08-20).
5. УКАЗ Президента РФ от 02.08.2009 N 885 Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine. document.kremlin.ru (2009-08-02).
6. Olympic Champion Larisa Ilchenko Marries Sergey Perunin. openwaterswimming.com (2012-08-26)
7. International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Induction. marathonswimmers.org
8. "OPEN WATER MEDALLISTS AND STATISTICS" (PDF). fina.org. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2018.

External links

• Article from the Washington Post on Larisa
• Second Time Open Water Swimmer of the year
• 10k Seville
• Beijing Olympic Preview
• BBC Video of last 5 minutes of Beijing 10k
• Beijing Bio