Tatyana Lebedeva


Tatyana Romanovna Lebedeva is a Russian athlete who competes in both the long jump and triple jump events. She is one of the most successful athletes in the disciplines, having won gold medals at Olympic, world and European levels. She has a long jump best of 7.33 m and had hold the indoor world record mark of 15.36 m in the triple jump.

Career

Her first successes came in the triple jump in 2000, when she won European Indoor gold medal and a silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She became the World Champion the following year in addition to a silver medal at the world indoors. After retaining her triple jump title at the 2003 World Championships, she decided to take up the long jump as well. The move paid dividends: she broke the indoor world record in the triple jump at the 2004 World Indoor Championships and won a second gold in the long jump with a mark of 15.36. She won her first Olympic gold medal in the long jump event at the 2004 Athens Olympics and also won the bronze in the triple jump competition.
In 2005, she missed the World Championships due to injury, but became the sole winner of the IAAF Golden League jackpot, a bonus of US$1 million awarded to athletes who win their event at each of six designated European summer meets. That year, she concentrated on the triple jump.
Lebedeva excelled at the 2005 IAAF Golden League, receiving the entire jackpot prize of US$1 million. She became European champion for the first time with a win at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in the triple jump. Lebedeva reached the podium twice at the 2007 World Championships taking long jump gold and triple jump silver.
On 25 January 2017, the International Olympic Committee sanctioned Lebedeva for doping at the 2008 Olympic Games, as a result she lost her silver medals for both the long jump and triple jump events in that Games. Lebedeva appealed the IOC's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, however on 26 July 2018, the IOC's decision was upheld.
She won the long jump silver medal at the 2009 World Championships, although she could not match this form in the triple jump.

Personal life

In September 2002, Lebedeva and her husband Nikolay Matveev had their first daughter, Anastasiya. She announced that she was pregnant for a second time in 2010, and gave birth to a second daughter in November.

Personal bests