Yuliya Chepalova


Yuliya Anatolyevna Chepalova is a former Russian cross-country skier.

Early and current personal life

Daughter of a cross-country skiing coach, Chepalova started to ski as soon as she began to walk. Coached by her father, Anatoly Chepalov, Yuliya made her debut in 1986 and continued to move upward through the old Soviet system. Chepalov, a coach of the Russian junior national team, reportedly sold off all of his assets to help finance his daughter's career. Chepalova is currently affiliated with Dynamo Moscow, lives in Syktyvkar with her second husband, Vasily Rochev, and her daughter Olesya, and their daughter Vaselina who was born in February 2007; works as a sports instructor, and speaks, besides her native Russian, also some German.

Skiing career

Debuting on the FIS cross-country circuit in the 1995–1996 season, Chepalova has continually ranked in the Top 15 throughout her career, finishing #1 overall in 2000–2001. This includes success at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with golds in the 4 × 5 km relay and 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, silvers in the 4 × 5 km relay and 10 km freestyle, and bronzes in the Individual sprint and Team sprint. Additionally, Chepalova has won the women's 30 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times, joining fellow Russian cross-country skier Larisa Lazutina as the only three-time winners of the event. She earned the Holmenkollen medal in 2004.
At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Chepalova won the women's 30 km freestyle event in her Olympic debut, becoming the youngest winner of that event. Four years later at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Chepalova won a complete set of medals with gold in the Individual sprint, silver in the 10 km classical, and bronze in the 15 km freestyle. At the Winter Olympics in Turin, Chepalova would win two more medals with a gold in the 4 × 5 km relay and a silver in the 30 km freestyle mass start.
Chepalova was absent from the cross-country skiing World Cup for the 2006–2007 season to pregnancy.
She tested positive for Erythropoietin during an in-competition doping control on 3 January 2009 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. She was banned from competition for two years after this.
Immediately after the EPO test results went public her father and coach Anatoly Chepalov officially announced her retirement. On 29 November 2009 Chepalova addressed IOC President Jacques Rogge where she came down hard on the World Anti-Doping Agency, accusing the organisation of being biased and unscrupulous in general, of unlawful ruling of her case in particular, and of "severing the career" of many good athletes but all the efforts to restore her good name were of no avail. Following this in December 2009 Chepalova ostracised Russian Olympic Committee President Leonid Tyagachyov and Ski Federation of Russia President Vladimir Loginov for their inaction in matters of defending the sportsmen whose guilt is not yet proven.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation.

Olympic Games

Year Age 5 km
individual 		10 km
individual 		15 km Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km
relay 		Team
sprint
19982113—6Gold—
200225SilverBronze49Gold Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay|
2006 29269Silver27Gold—

World Championships

Year Age 10 km
individual 		15 km
individual		 Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km
relay 		Team
sprint
200124—107BronzeGold
200528SilverGold10—SilverBronze
2009 32—— —

World Cup

Season titles

Individual podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
11997–984 January 1998 Kavgolovo, Russia10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
21997–9811 March 1998 Falun, Sweden5 km F IndividualWorld Cup3rd
31998–99 20 March 1999 Oslo, Norway30 km C IndividualWorld Cup1st
41999–200010 December 1999 Sappada, Italy10 km F IndividualWorld Cup3rd
51999–20002 February 2000 Trondheim, Norway30 km F IndividualWorld Cup3rd
61999–200026 February 2000 Falun, Sweden10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
71999–200018 March 2000 Bormio, Italy10 km F PursuitWorld Cup1st
82000–018 December 2000 Santa Caterina, Italy10 km F Individual World Cup 1st
92000–0120 December 2000 Davos, Switzerland15 km C IndividualWorld Cup1st
102000–0129 December 2000 Engelberg, Switzerland1 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
112000–014 February 2001 Nové Město, Czech Republic1 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
122000–014 March 2001 Kavgolovo, Russia15 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
132000–0114 March 2001 Borlänge, Sweden5 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
142000–0117 March 2001 Falun, Sweden10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
152000–0118 March 2001 Falun, Sweden10 km C IndividualWorld Cup3rd
162000–0124 March 2001 Kuopio, Finland40 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
172001–0225 November 2001 Kuopio, Finland5 km F IndividualWorld Cup2nd
182001–0212 December 2001 Brusson, Italy10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
192001–0212 January 2002 Nové Město, Czech Republic5 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
202003–046 February 2004 La Clusaz, France15 km F IndividualWorld Cup2nd
212003–0414 February 2004 Oberstdorf, Germany7.5 km + 7.5 km C/F PursuitWorld Cup1st
222003–0428 February 2004 Oslo, Norway30 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
232003–046 February 2004 Pragelato, Italy15 km F IndividualWorld Cup2nd
242004–0515 January 2005 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km F IndividualWorld Cup3rd
252004–0512 February 2005 Reit im Winkl, Germany10 km F IndividualWorld Cup3rd
262004–056 March 2005 Lahti, Finland10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
272004–0519 March 2005 Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km C/F PursuitWorld Cup3rd
282005–0627 November 2005 Rukatunturi, Finland10 km F IndividualWorld Cup2nd
292005–0615 December 2005 Canmore, Canada10 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st
302005–0617 December 2005 Canmore, Canada15 km C Mass StartWorld Cup2nd
312005–0631 December 2005 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km F IndividualWorld Cup2nd
322005–0614 January 2006 Val di Fiemme, Italy15 km F Mass StartWorld Cup2nd
332005–0611 March 2006 Oslo, Norway30 km F IndividualWorld Cup1st

Team podiums