Olga Fatkulina

Name of coach	Alexander Rudopysov [personal, husband], RUS; Svetlana Zhuravleva [personal], RUS
Club / Team	Lidia Skoblikova Sports School of Olympic Reserve [RUS] / Dynamo Chelyabinsk [RUS]:
Reason for choosing this sport	She was an energetic child so her first coach Svetlana Zhuravleva recommended that she try sprints to use up her excess energy. "My coach made one of her first enrolments at school, I got interested and stayed with speed skating."

Awards and honours

She and ice hockey player Vadim Shipachyov were flag bearers for the ROC at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (iz.ru, 17 Feb 2022) After winning a silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, she received the Order for Merit to the Fatherland [first class] in the Russian Federation. (kremlin.ru, 24 Feb 2014) In 2013 she received the title of Honoured Master of Sport in the Russian Federation. (minsport.gov.ru, 19 Sep 2019; Athlete, 19 Oct 2017)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She took up the sport in 1999 at age nine at the Lidia Skoblikova Sports School of Olympic Reserve in Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation.

www.facebook.com/olga.fatkulina.5

Nicknames	Ural Meteorite (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021)
Other information	HIATUS She decided to sit out the 2022/23 season. "Due to the fact that we [Russian speed skaters] don't have international starts, I decided to take time to restart, because I have been in sports for a long time and I just need to do it. Now is the time to reboot, to rethink some things. That's why I decided to skip this season. I want to come back and go to the [2026 Winter] Olympics [in Milan-Cortina]." (tass.ru, 05 Sep 2022; matchtv.ru, 04 Sep 2022) SANCTION AND APPEAL In November 2017 she was found to have committed an anti-doping violation at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, resulting in the disqualification of all her results in Sochi, including the silver medal she won in the women's 500m event. The International Olympic Committee [IOC] subsequently banned her from competing at the Olympic Games for life based on the findings of the Oswald Commission into doping by the Russian Federation. In February 2018 the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] upheld her appeal, overturned the IOC decision and annulled the sanctions. However, the IOC decided not to invite her to compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (news.sportbox.ru, 09 Jun 2018; tas-cas.org, 01 Feb 2018; Reuters, 24 Nov 2017) FURTHER EDUCATION, OCCUPATION She received a degree in public administration at the South Ural State University in Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation. She has served as a senior lieutenant in the National Guard of the Russian Federation. (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021) EARLY YEARS When she was age six, her mother died, so Olga and her brother went to live with their grandmother. "I lived with my brother, my grandmother and my uncle. We lived poorly. Skating gave me hope that I could get out of this cycle and be better than my relatives. At age 15, I wanted to quit skating, but the school and the coach brought me back. When I started earning my first money, it motivated me a lot. There have been a lot of injuries and operations throughout my career. It always just made me angry and made me stronger." (womenfitness.net, 10 Sep 2021; hornews.ru, 06 Sep 2013)
Hero / Idol	Soviet speed skater Lidia Skoblikova. (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Patience and work will overcome everything." (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021)
Injuries	She suffered a light concussion while skiing in the lead-up to the 2021/22 season. (matchtv.ru, 21 Oct 2021) She injured her thigh muscle shortly before the 1000m race on the second day of the 2021 European Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands, and withdrew from the event. (rsport.ria.ru, 27 Jan 2021) In 2015 she fell down on the ice and injured a knee ligament. In mid-2016 she suffered a thigh muscle tear. (Athlete, 10 Nov 2017)
Hobbies	Cooking, snowboarding, alpine skiing. (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the 1000m at the 2013 World Single Distances Championships in Sochi, Russian Federation. (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021)
Famous relatives	Her husband Alexander Rudopysov has also competed in speed skating. He won bronze at the 2007 Russian Championships and has received the title of Master of Sport of International Class in the Russian Federation. (Athlete, 20 Nov 2021; 74.ru, 09 Aug 2021)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (tass.ru, 05 Sep 2022)