Olga Kaniskina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Olga Kaniskina

Kaniskina at Osaka 2007
Personal information
Born	(1985-01-19) January 19, 1985 (age 40) Napolnaya Tavla, Kochkurovsky District, Mordovian ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.59 m (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight	43 kg (95 lb)
Sport
Country	Russia
Sport	Women's athletics
Event(s)	20 km walk
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 0 0 European Championships 0 1 0 Total 2 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 20 km walk Disqualified 2012 London 20 km walk World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka 20 km walk European Championships Silver 2006 Gothenburg 20 km walk

Olga Nikolayevna Kaniskina (Russian: О́льга Никола́евна Кани́ськина; born January 19, 1985) is a Russian coach and former race walker. She was born in Napolnaya Tavla, a village in Russia.

Olga became famous for her amazing race walking skills. She won a silver medal at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in the 20 km walk. The next year, she won a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships. Her biggest win was a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also set a special record at the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. Later in her career, some of her results were cancelled because of rule violations.

Olga's Race Walking Journey

Olga started her journey in race walking, which is a sport where athletes walk as fast as they can without running. In 2006, she took fifth place at the 2006 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. Later that year, she won her first big medal, a silver, at the 2006 European Athletics Championships.

Her first world title came in 2007. She won the gold medal in the women's 20 km walk at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She was faster than her teammate Tatyana Shemyakina.

Setting Records and Olympic Gold

In 2008, Olga tried to break a world record in the 20 km walk at the Russian Championships. She finished with a very fast time. However, for a world record to be officially recognized, three special judges must be at the race. Because there weren't enough judges, her record couldn't be made official.

Even so, she set another record at the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Russia. She finished the 20 km walk in 1 hour, 25 minutes, and 42 seconds. This was a new championship record!

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Olga was incredible. She broke the Olympic record for the fastest 20 km walk. She completed the race in 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 31 seconds. She was 36 seconds faster than the silver medalist. The old Olympic record was set in 2000 by Wang Liping.

Olga continued her success by winning her second World gold medal at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She was the first woman to win this title two times in a row.

Later Competitions and Rule Violations

In 2010, Olga won a competition in Poland. She also won the women's 20 km title at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. In 2011, she won another race in Portugal.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Olga led the 20 km walk for most of the race. But in the very last kilometer, Elena Lashmanova passed her, and Olga won the silver medal.

Later, it was found that Olga had broken rules about fair play in sports. Because of these rule violations, she was not allowed to compete for some time. Also, many of her results from July 15, 2009, to September 16, 2009, and from July 30, 2011, to November 8, 2011, were cancelled. This included two of her World Championship gold medals. Her silver medal from the 2012 London Olympics was also later cancelled.

International Competitions

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev awarding Olga Kaniskina in Moscow Kremlin in 2009.

Representing  Russia

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result	Notes
2005	European U23 Championships	Erfurt, Germany	2nd	20 km	1:33:33
2006	World Race Walking Cup	A Coruña, Spain	5th	20 km	1:28:59
	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	2nd	20 km	1:28:35
2007	European Race Walking Cup	Leamington Spa, United Kingdom	2nd	20 km	1:28:13
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	1st	20 km	1:30:09
2008	World Race Walking Cup	Cheboksary, Russia	1st	20 km	1:25:42	CR
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	20 km	1:26:31	OR
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	DQ	20 km	1:28:09	Results cancelled due to rule violations
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	DQ	20 km	1:27:44	Results cancelled due to rule violations
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	DQ	20 km	1:29:42	Results cancelled due to rule violations
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	DQ	20 km	1:25:09	Results cancelled due to rule violations

See also

In Spanish: Olga Kanískina para niños