Anfisa Anatolyevna Reztsova (, née Romanova, Романова; 16 December 1964 – 19 October 2023) was a Soviet and Russian biathlete and cross-country skier who competed in both sports from 1985 to 2000. In 1992 she became the first female athlete, and as of 2024 only 1 of 2, to win Olympic gold in two separate disciplines.
Career In Soviet times, she trained at Dynamo in Vladimir.
Reztsova earned a total of five medals in the Winter Olympics, including three golds (1988: cross country 4 × 5 km relay, 1992: biathlon 7.5 km, 1994: biathlon 4 × 7.5 km relay), one silver (1988: cross country 20 km), and one bronze (1992: biathlon 3 × 7.5 km relay). She was notable for performing the feat of being the only person to win Olympic gold medals in both cross-country skiing and biathlon. She was one of the few sportspersons to win gold at three consecutive Olympics under three different flags, the first being the Soviet union in 1988, the second – Unified Team in 1992, and the third being the Russian Federation in 1994.
Reztsova also found success at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, earning three golds (4 × 5 km relay: 1985, 1987, 1999) and two silvers (1987: 5 km, 20 km). She also won one cross-country World Cup and seven biathlon World Cups in her career.
In an interview with a Russian sports website in 2020, she admitted to having used illegal performance-enhancing drugs at the end of her career.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Norwegian biathletes wanted Russian athletes to be excluded from international competitions. This made Reztsova claim that Russian athletes would always be better than the Norwegians, claim that Norwegians just wanted to get rid of competitors, and liken Norwegians to "disgusting cockroaches"."Russere i strupen på norske skiskyttere: -Som ekle kakerlakker" (Norwegian; "Russians attacking Norwegian biathlon athletes: - Like disgusting cockroaches"), VG, 6 January 2023
Personal life and death Reztsova lived in Moscow. She was the mother of biathletes Daria Virolaynen and Kristina Reztsova.
Anfisa Reztsova died of cardiac arrest on 19 October 2023, at the age of 58. Earlier in March 2023 Reztsova had a heart attack and due to low hemoglobin she received several blood transfusions.
Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver) Year Age 5 km 10 km 20 km 4 × 5 km relay 1988 23 — — Silver Gold
World Championships 5 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver) Year Age 5 km 10 km 15 km Pursuit 20 km 30 km 4 × 5 km relay 1985 20 — 12 5 Gold 1987 22 Silver 4 Silver Gold 1999 34 11 5 4 — Gold
World Cup Season standings Season Age OverallLong DistanceMiddle DistanceSprint 1985 20 6 1986 21 15 1987 22 1988 23 13 1999 34 9 8 8 2000 35 32 25 3831
Individual podiums 10 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 1984–85 14 February 1985 Klingenthal, East Germany 10 km Individual World Cup 3rd2 18 February 1985 Nové Město, Czechoslovakia 5 km Individual World Cup 2nd3 1985–86 7 December 1985 Labrador City, Canada 5 km Individual F World Cup 2nd4 1986–87 16 February 1987 Oberstdorf, West Germany 5 km Individual C World Championships 2nd5 20 February 1987 20 km Individual F World Championships 2nd6 28 February 1987 Lahti, Finland 5 km Individual F World Cup 2nd7 15 March 1987 Kavgolovo, Soviet Union 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd8 1987–88 16 December 1987 Bohinj, Yugoslavia 10 km Individual F World Cup 2nd9 25 February 1988 Calgary, Canada 20 km Individual F Olympic Games 2nd10 1998–99 14 February 1999 Seefeld, Austria 5 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
Team podiums 8 victories 11 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates1 1984–8522 January 1985 Seefeld, Austria 4 × 5 km Relay World Championships 1st Tikhonova / Smetanina / Vasilchenko21986–8717 February 1987 Oberstdorf, West Germany 4 × 5 km Relay F World Championships 1st Ordina / Gavrylyuk / Lazutina3 1 March 1987 Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 Relay C/FWorld Cup 1st Ordina / Lazutina / Välbe4 1987–8821 February 1988 Calgary, Canada 4 × 5 km Relay F Olympic Games 1st Nageykina / Gavrylyuk / Tikhonova5 1998–9929 November 1998 Muonio, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay F World Cup 1st Danilova / Lazutina / Gavrylyuk6 20 December 1998 Davos, Switzerland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Denisova / Baranova-Masalkina / Chepalova7 10 January 1999 Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 5 Relay C/FWorld Cup 1st Nageykina / Gavrylyuk / Chepalova8 26 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria 4 × 5 Relay C/FWorld Championships 1st Danilova / Lazutina / Gavrylyuk9 14 March 1999 Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Gavrylyuk / Yegorova / Skladneva10 21 March 1999 Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Lazutina / Baranova-Masalkina / Yegorova11 1999–0029 November 1999 Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 5 km Relay F World Cup 1st Yegorova / Skladneva / Chepalova
Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.
References
External links . Birth date listed as 6 December 1964.