Lyudmyla Leonidivna Blonska, née Shevchuk (), sometimes known as Lyudmila Blonskaya, (born November 9, 1977) is a Ukrainian former

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

, and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er. She was given a lifetime ban from competition after failing a drug test at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, her second doping offense.

Personal life

Blonska was born as Lyudmyla Leonidivna Shevchuk on 9 November 1977 in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. In 2000, she graduated from the

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Institute as a trainer and teacher of physical culture. She then moved to

Brovary Brovary (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine, situated to the east of the capital Kyiv and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It serves as the administrative centre of Brovary Raion. Brovary hosts t ...

with fellow athlete Serhiy Blonskyy, whom she married. They have two children: Iryna (born 15 May 2001) and Oleksandr (born 23 June 2004).

Career

Blonska practiced

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...

from age five to ten. She then switched to

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and later

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

cycle racing Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in s ...

. At age 14 she was introduced to

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

by a local coach. In 1993, Blonska participated in the Ukrainian Youth Championships in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, entering the heptathlon competition for the first time. She recalled crying out of fear before the 800m event, but then falling in love with heptathlon after scoring good results. In 1995, after finishing school, Blonska moved to the capital,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, to begin training as member of the Ukrainian youth team. Five months later she received an invitation to study at the Institute of Sports and Physical Culture in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. She found herself without a trainer and had to coach herself for a year and a half, while working at night to make ends meet. In 1998, Blonska achieved third place in the national championships with 5554 points and, in 1999, improved her personal best (PB) to 5765. In May 2002, a year after becoming a mother, Blonska won the national championship with a PB of 6039 and qualified for the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. There she finished thirteenth and soon thereafter tested positive for

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

s. She served a two-year ban before returning to the sport. Blonska won the gold medal at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter "U", inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the letter ...

and finished fifth at the 2006 European Championships. She won the gold medal at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

. Blonska's personal best heptathlon score is 6832 points, a Ukrainian record, achieved in August 2007 in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

where she won the silver medal. Just prior to the 2008 Olympics, she finished eighth in pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships. At the 2008 Olympics, Blonska won silver in the

women's heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

, but she was quickly disqualified and lost her medal after she tested positive for the anabolic steroid

methyltestosterone Methyltestosterone, sold under the brand names Android, Metandren, and Testred among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men, delayed puberty in boys, at low ...

. She had qualified for the long jump final, but the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

decided to expel her from the Games completely. As this was her second doping offence, she was given a lifetime ban from competitive athletics. Her husband/coach was also banned for life."Ukrainian heptathlete Blonska banned for life"
nytimes.com. August 31, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blonska, Lyudmyla 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Simferopol Ukrainian heptathletes Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Sportspeople banned for life Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ukraine Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners FISU World University Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Ukraine Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Ukrainian Athletics Championships winners

Personal life

Career

See also

References

External links