Yekaterina Aydova

Memorable sporting achievement

Competing at four editions of the Olympic Winter Games between 2010 and 2022. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2023)

Name of coach	Aleksey Yesin, RUS; Sergey Klevchenya, RUS
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began skating at age 10 at the Shakhter Stadium in Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

Other sports	She trained in short track for five years and became a Master of Sport. (liter.kz, 31 Jul 2013)
Awards and honours	She and short track skater Abzal Azhgaliyev were named flag bearers for Kazakhstan at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (dynamo.kz, 28 Jan 2022) She has received the title of Master of Sport of International Class in Kazakhstan. (skating.kz, 26 Oct 2021)

instagram.com/aidovayekaterina/

Injuries	She tore a muscle in her inner thigh in 2023. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2023) She missed the 2019/20 season as a result of a torn patellar tendon in her left knee. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2023; olympic.kz, 18 Feb 2021) She underwent surgery for a spinal disc herniation in June 2016, which took her two years to fully recover from. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2023, 16 Nov 2018) She injured her spinal cord at the beginning of the 2014/15 season. She had recovered by the start of 2015. (caravan.kz, 03 Apr 2015) She cut her eyebrow and fell ill ahead of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, which affected her performance at the Games. (sports.kz, 19 Feb 2014)
Nicknames	Kate, Catrin, Cat (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023, 25 Nov 2021)
Other information	FURTHER EDUCATION She has received a degree in law at the Karaganda Economic University of Kazpotrebsouz in Kazakhstan. (Athlete, 25 Nov 2021)

Reason for choosing this sport

She loved skating and rollerblading as a child, and after participating in short track between 2001 and 2005, she switched to long track speed skating.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"Miracles happen, but you need to work on them long and hard." (Athlete, 16 Nov 2023)
Hero / Idol	Dutch speed skater Jan Bos. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)