Valentyna Oleksandrivna Semerenko (), known also as Valya Semerenko () and featuring in statistics as Valj Semerenko (born 18 January 1986) is a Ukrainian

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

. She is Olympic and

World champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, multiple World championships medalist, and one of the most successful Ukrainian winter athletes.

Career

When she was in the fourth grade of elementary school, she took up

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

together with her twin sister Vita. But later, they decided to switch to biathlon. She began competing internationally a year earlier than Vita. In 2004 she took part at Junior World Championships in

Maurienne Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Maurienne val ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 2005 she won two medals at Junior World and one at Junior European Championships. On 17 December 2005, she debuted in

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

. She finished her first World Cup sprint competition in Osrblie,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, ranking 47th. Valja managed to qualify for

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

, where she took part only in individual race, finishing 46th. For the first time, she participated at the World Championships in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

in Antholz-Anterselva,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Valja missed almost half of the 2006-07 Biathlon World Cup. The next season was more successful. She won the silver medal in the 4×6 km relay event at the

Biathlon World Championships 2008 The 42nd Biathlon World Championships were held in Östersund, Sweden from 8 to 17 February 2008. It was the second time Östersund was hosting the Biathlon World Championships, the first being in 1970. It was also 50 years after the first Biath ...

. First

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

relay victory came on 7 January 2009, in Oberhof,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She represented Ukraine at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In all races she placed between 13 and 23. First individual podium Valja celebrated on 4 February 2011, in Presque Isle,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in sprint. At the 2013 World Championships, Valja won bronze in

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

race and silver in

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

. On 15 December 2013, Valja won a pursuit race in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

, which was her first individual World Cup victory. Stamp of Ukraine s1368

Together with Juliya Dzhyma,

Vita Semerenko Vita Semerenko (; born 18 January 1986) is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olympic champion in women's relay, Olympic medalist and multiple World championships medalist. She is one of the most successful Ukrainian winter athletes. Biathlete Va ...

and

Olena Pidhrushna Olena Bilosiuk (, née Olena Pidhrushna (; born 9 January 1987) is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olympic and World champion and multiple medalist in different high-level competitions. Pidhrushna is considered one of Ukraine's most successful wi ...

she won the gold medal in the Women's relay at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 2014–15 season was the most successful as of January 2018. That season she had four individual podiums and finished third in World Cup classification, being the second-ever Ukrainian biathlete to finish a season in Top-3 after

Olena Zubrilova Olena Zubrilova (, ''Alena Zubrylava'', ; born 25 February 1973 in Shostka, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian biathlete who has been competing for Belarus since 2002. Prior to that, she had competed for Ukraine from 1991 unti ...

. After

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, Valja together with

Serhiy Semenov Serhiy Oleksandrovych Semenov (; born 28 July 1988 in Chernihiv, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian biathlete. He is first Ukrainian male biathlete to win a World Cup title in a single discipline, having become World Cup champion in the individual in ...

, she won World Team Challenge. The most memorable achievement was victory in

mass start Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in sport of athletics, speed skating, long-distance cross-country skiing and biathlon. There are usually many competitors in such an event, and in order for ...

at 2015 World Championships in

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti (; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an ar ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The next two seasons weren't very successful due to illnesses and weak physical conditions. Valja was forced to miss a lot of races. She qualified to represent

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. Her best personal result at the Games was 19th place in the mass start. She expected to run in the women's relay but wasn't included in the roster. Later she accused coaches of ignoring her results and including not so successful at the Games

Iryna Varvynets Iryna Petrenko, née Iryna Varvynets (Ukrainian: Ірина Варвинець; born 4 July 1992, in Mokhnatyn, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is World Championships medalist. She participated at 2018 Winter Olympics. ...

and Anastasiya Merkushyna in the relay team. Her sister

later told in an interview that Valja cried for hours after discovering that she wouldn't participate in the relay. In the evening before the competition, Valja posted on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that "we don't have any team", "our team is just ***" and so on, and that she has something more to unveil about the team. Next day she said that she may finish her sport career immediately after the Games. Nevertheless, she competed in World Cup after the Games.

Personal life

Biathlete Vita is her twin sister. Valja is married to Oleksiy Prokhor. She graduated from

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

State Pedagogical Makarenko University.

Results

Winter Olympics

World Championships

World Cup

Individual podiums

Relay podiums

Positions

* Position (and scores) are shown in the table.

References

External links

*
Biathlon.com.ua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semerenko, Valya 1986 births Living people Ukrainian female biathletes Olympic biathletes for Ukraine Biathletes at the 2006 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics Ukrainian twins Biathlon World Championships medalists Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Ukraine Olympic medalists in biathlon Dynamo Sports Club sportspeople Winter World University Games medalists in biathlon FISU World University Games silver medalists for Ukraine Competitors at the 2007 Winter Universiade Laureates of the Prize of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for special achievements of youth in the development of Ukraine Biathletes from Sumy Oblast 21st-century Ukrainian sportswomen