Olesya Vladykina: biography, personal life, photo

At the last World Paralympic Games, Russian athletes won a record number of medals - 28 bronze, 38 silver and 36 gold. In the team event, they took second place, only slightly losing to the Chinese team. Such results can not but cause a feeling of appropriate pride in the high achievements of these athletes. But it is especially fascinating to see what kind of struggle they are waging with their personal limitations, not allowing oneself to be broken. Their thirst for life truly inspires.

Olesya Vladykina is one of the champions of the Paralympic Games and a striking example of a strong personality. Eight years ago, in a terrible accident, she lost her close friend, with whom she spent 10 years swimming, and her left arm. However, at that terrible moment she did not allow panic, and later also did not allow herself to fall into despair. On the contrary, since then, Olesya Vladykina has even more firmly grasped the life. Her biography changed radically, but changed for the better.

Basic facts of biography

Vladykina Olesya Yuryevna was born in Moscow on February 14, 1988. In 2008, Olesya lost her left hand in a car accident. In the same year, at the Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, she won gold and became a world record holder in swimming with a 100-meter brace . In 2012, at the Summer Paralympic Games in London, she also won gold in a 100-meter brace, setting a new world record. In 2014 Olesya was the ambassador at the Olympic Games in Sochi.

A variety of children's hobbies

As a child, Olesya had many hobbies. Her mother thought that the girl should be engaged in art, namely music and ballet, and she was engaged. She studied under the dombra class in a music school, played the guitar, went to the ballet, danced acrobatic rock and roll. In addition to all this, Olesya studied English in depth. Such employment and just a crazy pace of life tempered the character of the future champion. Even then, with a loving mother's hand, Olesya's children's heart was filled with the will to win.

Swimming pool and swimming

On the voyage, parents gave Olesya to help the girl cope with the panic fear of water. This step vividly illustrates that the family of Vladykina since childhood has taught the girl never to "hide her head in the sand" and not to give in before difficulties. So Vladykina discovered a swimming pool and water sports. She was engaged in professional swimming in the SKIFSOR "Skif" for 10 years. Gradually, swimming practiced the rest and became the main passion in the life of the girl. This craving for sport in Olesya can be considered hereditary. Her mother was engaged in track and field athletics in her youth, and later she was teaching shaping, her brother was seriously engaged in hockey, and for many years the Vladykin family had a common practice of skiing and running in Tsaritsynsky Park. As a result of persistent selfless labor, Olesya Vladykina joined the Moscow swimming team and became a master of sports.

Leaves sports

At the age of 16 Olesya entered the Moscow State University of Railways to study sports management. In parallel with her studies, the girl had to work hard because her parents divorced, and it was not easy for her mother to have two children. Olesya settled herself as a salesman in the Central Department Store, in the fashion boutique Armani. So in her life there was something completely new - fashion, night clubs, parties, cinema. There was no time left for sports training, and it seemed that everything that could be achieved in the youthful voyage had already been achieved. However, Olesya's main victories were in fact still to come.

Turning point

In February 2008, Olesya traveled with her friend Alexandra Malochueva to her first long-awaited vacation to the amazing country of Thailand. No one could have guessed that it was here that a terrible catastrophe would happen that would change everything. On the way to Bangkok, a sightseeing double-decker bus, in which friends were traveling, turned over on the overpass. Later it was found that the bus driver failed to manage. It was raining that day, and he was driving at too high a speed, which, unfortunately, cost some people the most precious - life.

At the time of the accident, Olesya was dozing and did not even have time to understand what had happened. In that disaster, Olesya Vladykina lost her hand and received many other serious injuries, including a fracture of the nose, shoulder blades and sacrum. Olesya's friend Alexander died on the spot. In an instant, life literally turned over. However, from the very first minutes Olesya gave herself an order not to give up. Subsequently, her swimming coach, Sergei Zhilin, admired that the girl was then incredibly brave and before the arrival of the doctors she herself squeezed the mutilated hand to stop heavy blood loss.

Recovery period

Within a month, Olesya Vladykina underwent a rehabilitation course in Bangkok, the material costs of which were covered by insurance. On her return to Moscow, just a month later, the girl resumed sports training. At that time, the support of my mother and faithful friends helped Olesa reconcile with the changes that had taken place and accept that her life was now just different, but it did not become worse. In her interviews, the sportswoman will repeatedly emphasize that it was thanks to many indifferent people and especially loved ones who were always there that she had more strength to deal with the new complicated circumstances. A return to the sport opened up new horizons for Olesya and helped to see what she can set for herself and achieve many more good goals.

New life

Already after five months of training Olesya was selected for the Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing. It was not easy to achieve this either. The Russian national team was manned, it seemed, to Olesya, an athlete who no one knew yet, to not get through. And yet Vladyka managed to do what was considered impossible. Having gone for her personal funds to the European Cup, held in the Czech Republic, the girl won three gold medals at once, showing everyone her enormous potential and desire to win. So the young athlete was noticed, and then, by coincidence, the place in the national team was vacated, and Olesya got to the Paralympic Games. Here, in the final swim with a 100-meter-long brace, the goal-oriented girl won a gold medal and set a new world record.

From this moment Olesya Vladykina is a Paralympic champion. However, this was not her first gold, setting her Olympic record, the athlete also did not intend to stop. She was determined to more than once to exceed the achieved result. After that Olympic victory, Olesya gave a lot of interviews, met with the Russian president, went to the Economic Forum, which was held in St. Petersburg, she was appointed ambassador of the Olympics in Sochi in 2014 - in a word, life has become more saturated than ever.

New victories and awards

In 2012 Olesya Vladykina again took part in the Summer Paralympic Games, this time held in London. Here she managed to win a gold medal in the 100-meter swimming breaststroke and set a new world record. Also, Olesya received a bronze medal in the 100-meter swim on her back.

Among the awards athletes can be identified:

1. Assignment of the title of "Honored Master of Sports of Russia".
2. Prize of the Paralympic Russian Committee "Return to Life" in 2008.
3. Order of Friendship for significant contribution to the development of physical culture and sports and high achievements at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, held in 2008.
4. Order of Honor for significant contribution to the development of physical culture and sports and high achievements at the Paralympic Games in London, held in 2012.

It is not surprising that, as Olesya Vladykina shared, her personal life after the accident not only did not end, but became much brighter. And if before she considered herself a tearful and depressive person, now she realized that she can gather with forces at a critical moment, fight and win in the struggle even with very serious difficulties.

An example to follow

Now Olesya leads not only a rich, but also a truly happy life. The fact that a strong and positive person Olesya Vladykina, photos and video materials with her sports performances and interviews show very clearly. Among them, you can see how sincerely the girl smiles and how her eyes are burning. By stroking it, you understand that it's always worth living.

Olesya often attends sports training for disabled children, each of whom dreams someday to become a Paralympic champion. She tells that the sport opens up many new opportunities for the person, and also that life is an invaluable gift that should be cherished, enjoying every moment. It is only natural that in the hearts of these children Olesya Vladykina herself became a real example for imitation . As she lost her hand, she, of course, is scared to remember, because that event deprived the young girl of the habitual life that her contemporaries conduct, but it was this loss that revealed in her character such qualities of a true fighter as courage and fortitude.