Darya Domracheva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Darya Domracheva

Domracheva in 2018
Personal information
Born	3 August 1986 (1986-08-03) (age 39) Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
Height	1.68 m
Spouse(s)	Ole Einar Bjørndalen ​ ​ (m. 2016)​
Website	daryadomracheva.by
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon
Club	Dynamo Minsk
Olympic Games
Teams	3 (2010, 2014, 2018)
Medals	6 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams	8 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Medals	6 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	9
Individual victories	34
Individual podiums	81
Overall titles	1
Discipline titles	5
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 1 1 World Championships 2 4 1 Total 6 5 2 Women's biathlon Representing  Belarus Olympic Games Gold 2014 Sochi 15 km individual Gold 2014 Sochi 10 km pursuit Gold 2014 Sochi 12.5 km mass start Gold 2018 Pyeongchang 4×6 km relay Silver 2018 Pyeongchang 12.5 km mass start Bronze 2010 Vancouver 15 km individual World Championships Gold 2012 Ruhpolding 10 km pursuit Gold 2013 Nové Město 12.5 km mass start Silver 2008 Östersund Mixed relay Silver 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 12.5 km mass start Silver 2012 Ruhpolding 7.5 km sprint Silver 2017 Hochfilzen 10 km pursuit Bronze 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 4×6 km relay Junior World Championships Silver 2007 Martell 7.5 km sprint Silver 2007 Martell 10 km pursuit Bronze 2006 Presque Isle 10 km pursuit Youth World Championships Gold 2005 Kontiolahti 6 km sprint Gold 2005 Kontiolahti 7.5 km pursuit

Darya Uladzimirauna Domracheva (Belarusian: Дар’я Уладзіміраўна Домрачэва; born 3 August 1986) is a retired Belarusian biathlete and coach. She competed in the Biathlon World Cup from 2006 to 2018. Darya won many medals, including four gold medals at the Winter Olympics. She was also the overall winner of the Biathlon World Cup for the 2014–15 season.

Darya's Biathlon Journey

Darya Domracheva started her sports journey with cross-country skiing in 1992. She then switched to biathlon in 1999. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. She first represented Russia as a junior athlete. In 2004, she got an offer to join the team for Belarus. She became part of Belarus' national biathlon team in 2006.

Early Success in Junior Competitions

Darya quickly showed her talent. She won gold medals in sprint and pursuit races at the 2005 IBU Youth and Junior World Championships in Finland. The next year, in 2006, she earned a bronze medal in pursuit at the Junior World Championships in the USA. In 2007, she won two silver medals in sprint and pursuit at the Junior World Championships in Italy.

Breaking Through in World Cup Races

Darya's big moment came during the 2008/2009 season. She started finishing in the top three in World Cup races. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won a bronze medal in the 15-kilometer individual race. Soon after, in March 2010, she won her first World Cup race in Finland. She also won the pursuit race the very next day.

In 2010, Darya was named Belarus' Female Athlete of the Year. She also received the special title of Honoured Master of Sport.

Olympic Gold and World Champion Titles

Darya continued to get better after the Vancouver Olympics. She won 10 World Cup races between 2011 and 2013. She became a world champion in the pursuit race in 2012. In 2013, she won another world champion title in the mass start race.

Her biggest achievement was at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She won three gold medals! These were in the pursuit, individual, and mass start competitions. After this amazing performance, she received the Hero of Belarus medal, which is a very high honor.

Challenges and Comeback

In August 2015, Darya had to take a break from competing. She was diagnosed with mononucleosis, an illness that made her very tired. She missed the entire 2015–16 World Cup season.

Darya announced in April 2016 that she was expecting her first child. She planned to return to biathlon in 2017. She made a successful comeback in January 2017. She won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships.

Final Olympic Games and Retirement

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Darya did not win individual gold medals like in Sochi. However, she still won a silver medal in the mass start race. She also helped the Belarusian team win their first-ever Olympic gold medal in the relay race.

Darya finished the 2018 season ranked 3rd overall in the Biathlon World Cup. In June 2018, she announced her retirement from the sport. She said it was hard to balance being an elite athlete and a parent. She ended her career as Belarus' most successful winter Olympian. Her coach was Klaus Siebert, a former World Champion.

Life After Competition

In September 2019, Darya and her husband, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, became biathlon coaches for the Chinese team. They helped the team prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Darya's World Cup Achievements

Darya Domracheva had a very successful career in the Biathlon World Cup. She won the Pursuit World Cup in the 2011–2012 season. She also won the Mass Start World Cup in the same season. In the overall World Cup standings for 2011–2012, she finished second.

In the 2010–2011 season, Darya won the Mass Start World Cup title. Her biggest success came in the 2014–2015 season. She won the Overall World Cup title, scoring more points than any other athlete. She also won the Sprint World Cup title that season.

Olympic Medals

Darya won 6 medals at the Olympic Games: 4 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze.

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
2010 Vancouver	Bronze	8th	15th	6th	7th	N/A
2014 Sochi	Gold	9th	Gold	Gold	5th	–
2018 Pyeongchang	27th	9th	37th	Silver	Gold	5th

World Championship Medals

Darya won 7 medals at the World Championships: 2 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze.

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
2007 Antholz-Anterselva	–	13th	22nd	DNF	5th	13th
2008 Östersund	–	46th	25th	–	5th	Silver
2009 Pyeongchang	11th	53rd	5th	6th	4th	9th
2010 Khanty-Mansiysk	Not held in an Olympic season					9th
2011 Khanty-Mansiysk	19th	26th	35th	Silver	Bronze	10th
2012 Ruhpolding	25th	Silver	Gold	5th	4th	6th
2013 Nové Město	33rd	43rd	25th	Gold	7th	11th
2015 Kontiolahti	16th	25th	7th	4th	7th	4th
2016 Oslo	–	–	–	–	–	–
2017 Hochfilzen	13th	27th	Silver	19th	9th	–

Individual Race Wins

Darya Domracheva won 34 individual races during her career. These wins happened in different types of biathlon races:

• 9 Sprint races
• 11 Pursuit races
• 4 Individual races
• 10 Mass Start races

Darya's Personal Life

Domracheva at the World Championships in Östersund 2008

Darya Domracheva was born in Minsk, Belarus. When she was four, her parents, who are architects, moved to a small town in Siberia, Russia. Darya started skiing when she was six years old. She was so good that she often competed against boys because there were no girls who could challenge her. In 1999, a biathlon school opened in her town, and Darya joined it.

In 2003, Darya's family moved back to Minsk. She studied Tourism Management at the Belarusian State Economic University. She also worked for a security agency in Belarus for some time.

On 5 April 2016, a famous Norwegian biathlete named Ole Einar Bjørndalen announced that he and Darya were a couple. They got married on 16 July 2016. Darya gave birth to their daughter, Xenia, on 1 October 2016. She decided to retire from competitions in June 2018 to spend more time raising her daughter.

During the protests in Belarus in 2020, Darya spoke out. She asked the police to stop using violence and to find peaceful ways to solve problems.

Darya's Documentary Film

Darya Domracheva used a video camera to record her life as an athlete. She filmed herself, her teammates, and other athletes from 2008 until after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She collected about 500 hours of video! This footage was then made into a 50-minute movie. The film gives a special look into the lives of top athletes throughout the year. It shows their relaxation time, their hard training, and their competition season. The movie also shows athletes from many different countries living, traveling, and competing together.

See also

In Spanish: Daria Domracheva para niños