Olena Liashenko ( Olena Anatoliyivna Liashenko; born 9 August 1976) is a Ukrainian former competitive figure skater. She is a three-time European medalist (silver in 2004, bronze in 1995 and 2005) and won nine medals on the Grand Prix series, including three golds (1998 Skate Canada International, 2003 Cup of Russia, and 2003 Cup of China). She competed at four Olympics.
Personal life Liashenko was born on 9 August 1976 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR. In the summer of 2005, she married Ukrainian pentathlete Andriy Yefremenko, the brother of Galina Efremenko's husband. In 2007, they had a son, Platon.
Career Liashenko started skating at the age of four-and-a-half. She placed tenth at the 1993 World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea.
In the 1993–94, Liashenko placed 11th at the 1993 Skate Canada International and stepped onto her first senior national podium, taking silver at the Ukrainian Championships. In January 1994, she placed 19th at the European Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. In February, she qualified for the free skate at her first Winter Olympics and went on to finish 19th in Lillehammer, Norway. She concluded her season in March with a 6th-place finish at the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan, having placed sixth in all segments.
In the 1994–95 season, Liashenko won silver at the 1994 Nations Cup in Germany and repeated as the national silver medalist. She won her first ISU Championship medal, bronze, at the 1995 Europeans in Dortmund. She finished ninth at the 1995 Worlds in Birmingham, after placing sixth in the short program and tenth in the free skate.
In the 1995–96 season, Liashenko competed in the inaugural Champions Series (later known as the Grand Prix series) and won her first national title.
Liashenko is a four-time Olympian. She finished in the top ten at nine World Championships. Her highest finish was sixth, in 1994 and 2002. She retired after the 2005/2006 season due to recurring injury. Her injuries became a problem after the national championships. She withdrew from the 2006 European Championships, but managed to compete at the Olympics. She retired afterwards.
After retiring from competition, Liashenko began coaching young children in Kyiv. In August 2014, she began coaching young children at HC PZ Kraso Kladno in Kladno, Czech Republic.
Programs Season Short program Free skating 2005–06 Hana's Eyes West Side Story 2004–05 Flamenco Bolero Frida 2003–04 Otonal 2002–03 Appassionata Tango 2001–02 Chocolat Phytandros 2000–01 Violin Concerto Piano Concerto No. 1
Competitive highlights GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix
International Event 93–94 94–95 95–96 96–97 97–98 98–99 00–01 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 Olympics 19th 9th 14th 17th Worlds 6th 9th 12th 7th 8th 10th 8th 6th 7th 11th 10th Europeans 19th 3rd 4th 5th 4th 7th 5th 4th 9th 5th 2nd 3rd Final 6th 5th 5th 4th Cup of China 1st 4th Cup of Russia 6th 6th 1st Lalique 4th 4th Nations Cup /Spark./Bofrost 6th 3rd 2nd 4th 6th NHK Trophy 8th 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 6th 3rd Skate America 7th 3rd 6th Skate Canada 8th 9th 1st Goodwill Games 5th Finlandia Trophy 2nd 2nd Nations Cup 2nd Skate Canada 11th Skate Israel 2nd 3rd Ukrainian Souvenir 3rd 1st International: Junior Junior Worlds 10th EYOF 2nd Ukrainian Souvenir 2nd J National Ukrainian Championships 4th 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st
References
External links