Zhanna Pintusevich-Block
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Zhanna Pintusevich-Block (; Tarnopolskaya; born 6 July 1972) is a Ukrainian former world champion sprinter who competed in the
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.


Early life

Zhanna Pintusevich-Block comes from a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family. She was born in
Nizhyn Nizhyn (, ; ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the capital city, administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the ...
,
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and raised by her mother after her father left when she was three. They lived in a one-room house with no running water and used a coal stove for heat.


Track career

In 1991, Block won the 100 metres and 200 metres at the European Junior Championships, along with a silver in the 4 × 400 metres relay while representing the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. In 1992, Block won the European Indoor Championships for 60 m and in 1993 won the bronze medal in the same even at the World Championships in Toronto. She was 1997 World 200 m Champion and 2001 World 100 m champion. She also won 2 World silvers and 3 European silvers in the sprints. In 2001, she was named Person of the Year in Ukraine for Sports, ahead of former heavyweight champion boxer
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...
and footballer
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...
. Block was identified by
Victor Conte Victor Conte Jr. (born July 10, 1950) is an American musician and businessman who was the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), which is now defunct. BALCO was a sports nutrition center in California. In the late se ...
as allegedly having taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs supplied by Conte in the
BALCO The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was an American company that operated from 1983 to 2003 led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug s ...
scandal. In 2011, she was handed a two-year ban from sports for doping violation without a hearing. While never being convicted of using illegal drugs, her results from 30 November 2002 onward were disqualified. Her husband and coach, Mark Block, was given a 10-year ban from sport for receiving performance-enhancing drugs as part of the BALCO scandal. She took part in the 100 and
200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
races at both the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
and the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
, reaching the final three times. She also took part in the 100 m and
4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...
at the
2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
. However, she failed to progress to the finals. She has never won an Olympic medal but she managed to finish in fourth place in the 100 m final in Sydney. Her
100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...
personal best time of 10.82 seconds was set in
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, Canada on 6 August 2001.


Personal life

She has been married to her coach, Mark Block, since 1999 and has one daughter named Anna Block. Anna also runs track and competes at the national level. Anna is all-state in cross country and currently one of the best in the country.


See also

* List of select Jewish track and field athletes


References

* 1972 births Living people Doping cases in athletics Sportspeople from Nizhyn Ukrainian female sprinters Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Soviet female sprinters Jewish track and field athletes Olympic athletes for Ukraine Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ukraine World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Jewish Ukrainian sportspeople Soviet Jews Athletes stripped of World Athletics Championships medals World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics Olympic female sprinters Ukrainian Athletics Championships winners {{Ukraine-athletics-bio-stub