Elena Vladimirovna Khrustaleva
Elena Vladimirovna Khrustaleva was born in 1980 on September 28 in the city of Krasnoyarsk (USSR). Kazakh (formerly Russian and Belarusian) biathlete, a participant in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver as part of the Kazakhstan national team and the 2002 Olympic Games as part of the Belarus national team, and three-time European champion as part of the Russian team. Silver medalist at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver in the individual 15 km race.
Honored Master of Sports of Russia, Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Not married, no children.
Elena grew up in a sports family, and from childhood, various activities - hiking, cross-country, and alpine skiing, swimming, rock climbing, etc. racing. Her first mentor in biathlon was Viktor Ivanovich Ermakov and his wife Svetlana Aikinskaya. From the age of 14, Elena competed in all-Russian competitions. And in 1997, Elena participated in the Youth Olympic Games in Sweden and took 6th place there. This trip determined the desire to train further and the Olympic Games became the goal for Elena.
In 2000, Elena won the European Junior Championship and won silver at the Junior World Championship.
Elena's dream - the Olympic Games prompted her to leave for Belarus in 2001 and 2002 - the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
After the Games, Elena returns to Russia, and for the period 2003-2006, she trains in Russia and represents Russia at the European Championships, where she wins 3 gold medals. In 2003 - individual race and relay race and in 2005 - relay race.
Since 2006, Elena Khrustaleva has been performing for Kazakhstan, she also received citizenship from the Republic of Kazakhstan. After moving to Almaty, she began to train with coaches Viktor Smirnov and Nikolai Zelenkov. In 2007, Elena Khrustaleva became a two-time winner of the Asian Games as part of the Kazakhstan national team, multiple winners of the summer world championships, and a champion of the Asian championships. And in 2010, Elena won a silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics.