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Larisa Ilchenko

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Larisa Ilchenko is an inductee (Honor Swimmer of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in its Class of 2012 and an Honor Swimmer in the International Swimming Hall of Fame for the Class of 2016
Larisa Ilchenko, Olympic Champion in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Female medalists Keri-Anne Payne, Larisa Ilchenko and Cassandra Patten in the 2008 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim
Gold Medal certificate

Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko (Russian: Лариса Дмитриевна Ильченко) (born 18 November 1988 in Volgograd) is a retired Russian pool and open water swimmer and the 2008 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medalist.

Honours

Open Water Swimming Career

  • She won eight FINA World Swimming Championships titles between 2005 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.
  • She dominated long distance swimming since her first FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Dubai in 2004, where she won at the age of 16.
  • The next year in Montreal at the 2005 FINA World Swimming Championships, she had a much tougher time as the veterans pushed her under and held her up, but still won with a final sprint.
  • In 2006 in Napoli, Italy, she doubled up with victories in the 5 km and 10 km marathon swim at the FINA Open Water Swimming World Championships, again winning with trademark closing sprint, called The Ilchenko.
  • By 2007 and 2008, the juggernaut was firmly established and she confidently swaggered her way onshore while dominating the last part of every race she swam
  • Her career culminated at the 2008 Beijing Olympic 10K Marathon Swim when she won the first gold medal in open water swimming in very dramatic fashion using her trademark closing kick (The Ilchenko) after being behind the leaders for 9,900 meters of the 10,000-meter swim.
  • She is one of the co-founders of the TYR Champions Cup - Moscow including Yevgeny Bezruchenko and Vladimir Dyatchin.

World Championships (Medals)

  • Gold 2004 Dubai 5 km
  • Gold 2005 Montreal 5 km
  • Gold 2006 Napoli 5 km
  • Gold 2006 Napoli 10 km
  • Gold 2007 Melbourne 5 km
  • Gold 2007 Melbourne 10 km
  • Gold 2008 Seville 5 km
  • Gold 2008 Seville 10 km
  • Silver 2009 Rome 5 km

Champions Cup

Ilchenko is organizing the 3-stage Champions Cup open water swimming competition together with Eugene Bezruchenko and Vladimir Dyatchin during 2014. The Champions Cup consists of three stages. The first leg will be held in Moscow on 1 June 2014 in the Krylatskoye rowing canal. The second stage will be held in Lipetsk on 8 June 2014 in the central promenade of the city in the river Voronezh. The third stage will be held in Volgograd on 12 July 2014. Each stage is 1 nautical mile or 1,852 meters. Registration opens 1 February 2014 and is available to the first 400 swimmers at each stage. The event is open to both amateurs and professionals. Registration is www.swimcup.ru.

Retirement

The Queen of the open water swimming announced her retirement in 2010. Identified as a world-class swimmer with greater potential in the open water than the pool at the age of 14, she made a splash at her first FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in 2004. From the very beginning, she regularly won her races with a classic come-from-behind victory sprint over the last 100 meters. The multi-lingual personable athlete joins fellow Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden in retirement.

2008 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Women's Results

Gold: Larisa Ilchenko (Russia) 1:59:27.7
Silver: Keri-Anne Payne (Great Britain) 1:59:29.2
Bronze: Cassandra Patten (Great Britain) 1:59:31.0
4. Angela Maurer (Germany) 1:59:31.9
5. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) 1:59:36.8
6. Swann Oberson (Switzerland) 1:59:36.9
7. Poliana Okimoto (Brazil) 1:59:37.4
8. Jana Pechanová (Czech Republic) 1:59:39.7
9. Andreína del Valle Pinto Pérez (Venezuela) 1:59:40.0
10. Martina Grimaldi (Italy) 1:59:40.7
11. Marianna Lymperta (Greece) 1:59:42.3
12. Teja Zupan (Slovenia) 1:59:43.7
13. Yurema Requena (Spain) 1:59:46.9
14. Edith van Dijk (Netherlands) 2:00:02.8
15. Melissa Gorman (Australia) 2:00:33.6
16. Natalie du Toit South Africa 2:00:49.9
17. Daniela Inácio (Portugal) 2:00:59.0
18. Eva Berglund (Sweden) 2:01:05.0
19. Fang Yanqiao (China) 2:01:07.9
20. Imelda Martínez (Mexico) 2:01:07.9
21. Aurelie Muller (France) 2:02:04.1
22. Chloe Sutton (United States) 2:02:13.6
23. Natalya Samorodina (Ukraine) 2:10:41.6
24. Antonella Bogarin (Argentina) 2:11:35.9
Kristel Köbrich (Chile) DNF

External links

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