Natallia Tsylinskaya
Encyclopedia
Natallia Tsylinskaya is an internationally renowned eight time World Champion track cyclist.
Queen of Sports and one of track cycling's greatest ever riders was no simple task for Natallia Tsylinskaya. She first began cycle racing when a trainer visited her school, Minsk School No. 1, and taught the art of road cycling
. It was not until her one of her friends suggested Natallia try track cycling that she discovered her love for high speed "sprinting".
Early on Natallia showed true talent and determination Under the direction of her trainer Alexander Beljatsky (who rode for Russia's premier road racing team Dynamo), Natallia won the Youth USSR Championship at the age of 14. At age 16 Natallia became a Master of Sports (International Class) and in 1993 travelled to Sydney
, Australia
to participate in the Junior World Championships, where she won a bronze
medal.
bicycle racer who at the time was a World Champion in the combined team of the USSR. They married in the mid-1990s, moved to Donbass, Ukraine
, and Natallia gave birth to their daughter, Masha, in May 1996. During this time Natallia had no intentions of returning to competitive cycling, and her husband did not encourage such thoughts. She only returned to Minsk occasionally to attend the Academy of Physical Training and Sports, where she studied in absentia and which she completed in 1998.
ian authorities convinced Natallia to return to competitive cycling. Natallia's husband did not support this idea, and this most likely led to their separation and subsequent divorce in 2001. As Minsk does not have a track or adequate training facilities, Natallia was forced to move to Moscow
, where she trains at Krylatskom velodrome.
Natallia first gained international notice at the 2000 World Championships in Manchester
, England
where she won gold in both the 500mTT and the Sprint
, yet these results alone were not sufficient for a qualification for the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney
. In 2001, she teamed up with Russia
n trainer Stanislav Solovyev (Станислав Соловьев), who has remained her coach throughout her career. She won gold for both the sprint and 500mTT events at three of the four world cups but failed to gain a medal at the 2001 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium
She also suffered a severe crash during the sprint qualification rounds, where she broke her collarbone.
and Moscow. She followed this by avenging her deceptive performance at the 2001 World Championships by winning gold in both the 500mTT and sprint events at the 2002 World Championships in Ballerup
, Denmark
. With her professional career soaring to new heights, Natallia had also found happiness in the form of Russian bicycle racer Andrey Minashkin. The couple wed on October 18, 2002 in a ceremony in Minsk
In the World Championships of 2003 in Stuttgart
, Germany
, she won gold in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.078 seconds which still remains Natallia’s personal best time. However, in the sprint event, Natallia met her main rival, Russian track cyclist and good friend Svetlana Grankovskaya
, in the final and lost in two straight heats, thus relegating Natallia to the silver medal.
In 2004 the focus was on the Athens Olympics
which took place in August. After victories in Wold Cup races earlier that year, expectations ran high. But at the World Championships in Melbourne
, Australia
in May 2004, she collided with British
rider Victoria Pendleton
’s wheel in the sprint and bruised her right hip in the crash. In the following 500mTT competition, she finished eighth, Australian Anna Meares
winning this event.
At the Olympics in Athens on August 20, 2004, Natallia started as the tenth of 18 cyclists in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.167 seconds, only a fraction of a second slower than her own personal best and enough to put her into gold medal place. Still, she was overtaken by two others: Chinese rider and World Record holder Yonghua Jiang
raced a time of 34.112 seconds, slightly slower than her personal best time (and Olympic Record time) of 34.00 seconds, and then Australian rider and newly crowned 500mTT World Champion Anna Meare, who started last, took the gold medal in the new World Record time of 33.952 seconds, thus leaving Natallia only bronze. Natallia was quoted after the race saying "I am very happy to have a medal even if I am not very satisfied with my results. I feel really great, it is my first Olympic medal and I am very happy. I believe that I had a great performance."
Her subsequent performance in the sprint competition came as a deception. She lost in the quarterfinals to Russian cyclist Svetlana Grankovskaya and finished by taking the 5th place only. She has been quoted as saying she "bawled her eyes out when she got back to the locker room and howled for three days after that" because she was so disappointed with her performance.
racing. She began the season by appearing at the Los Angeles
World Cup where she won gold in the 500mTT and in the sprint and also won bronze in the Keirin, losing out to Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares. One month later in January 2005 Natallia rode at the Manchester World Cup where she won gold in the Keirin event The World Championships were held in Los Angeles and proved to be a very mixed event for Natallia. She won gold in the 500mTT race over Anna Meares of Australia by just .014 seconds, but was beaten in the sprint by the Australian Kerrie Meares
after being relegated and subsequently disqualified in the quarterfinals for performing a dangerous maneuver. The Keirin event was equally as dramatic as the sprints, when in the second round, Natallia fell whilst trying to muscle her way into the lead. Luckily Natallia only sustained mild superficial injuries as well as a moderate concussion.
The 2006 season began at the Moscow World Cup where her daughter Masha (then 9 years old) accompanied her. Having family nearby proved good luck for Natallia as she won gold in both the 500mTT event and the sprint. Then Natallia moved on to the Manchester World Cup where she consolidated her season dominance in the 500mTT by taking gold on the first day. A day later, Natallia came second in the sprints losing out to Victoria Pendleton after being relegated in the final. In an unusual move, Natallia opted to partake in three World Cup events in preparation for the World Championships. In the Los Angeles World Cup Natallia again won the 500mTT and the sprint events. The 2006 World Championships were held in Bordeaux
, France
, where Natallia won gold in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.152 seconds – her fastest time since the 2003 World Championships in Stuttgart A couple of days later, Natallia also took the gold in the sprint event, beating Victoria Pendleton in the final.
in the semi-finals. In the final Natallia met Great Britain champion Victoria Pendleton and was pushed to a deciding third ride before taking the Gold medal. The next day Natallia participated in the 500mTT where she scored a disappointing time of 35.023 seconds. It was in this event that Anna Meares broke her own world record attained in Athens by .008seconds. On the last day Natallia was unable to advance to the final of the keirin event after being knocked out in the second round.
The second round of the world cup series was held in Moscow, Russia on the 15–17 December. As in Sydney, the first event for Natallia was the sprints where she recorded a qualifying time of 10.984. Natallia backed up her success in Sydney by once again making it through to the final where she met an up and coming 19 year old Cuban Lizandra Guerra. Natallia needed only two rides to defeat her opponent, however the first ride needed to be determined by a photofinish showing Natallia crossing the line first by the barest of margins. On December 16 the 500mTT was held with Natallia having to settle for second place behind Cuban Lizandra Guerra with a time of 34.802 seconds. On the final day of competition Natallia rode in the Keirin event where she improved on her performance in Sydney by making it to the final, where she finished in fifth place.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing
, she qualified seventh fastest in the preliminary heats for the sprint event but was beaten by Clara Sanchez in the first round. Tsylinskaya won the repechage only to be beaten by Guo Shuang
, who went on to take the bronze medal. Tsylinskaya was placed sixth overall at the end of the competition.
Early life
The journey to become BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
Queen of Sports and one of track cycling's greatest ever riders was no simple task for Natallia Tsylinskaya. She first began cycle racing when a trainer visited her school, Minsk School No. 1, and taught the art of road cycling
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
. It was not until her one of her friends suggested Natallia try track cycling that she discovered her love for high speed "sprinting".
Early on Natallia showed true talent and determination Under the direction of her trainer Alexander Beljatsky (who rode for Russia's premier road racing team Dynamo), Natallia won the Youth USSR Championship at the age of 14. At age 16 Natallia became a Master of Sports (International Class) and in 1993 travelled to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to participate in the Junior World Championships, where she won a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
medal.
Family life
It was through cycling that Natallia met her first husband, Alexander Markovnichenko, a famous UkrainianUkrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
bicycle racer who at the time was a World Champion in the combined team of the USSR. They married in the mid-1990s, moved to Donbass, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and Natallia gave birth to their daughter, Masha, in May 1996. During this time Natallia had no intentions of returning to competitive cycling, and her husband did not encourage such thoughts. She only returned to Minsk occasionally to attend the Academy of Physical Training and Sports, where she studied in absentia and which she completed in 1998.
Return to cycling
During the winter of 1998, BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian authorities convinced Natallia to return to competitive cycling. Natallia's husband did not support this idea, and this most likely led to their separation and subsequent divorce in 2001. As Minsk does not have a track or adequate training facilities, Natallia was forced to move to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where she trains at Krylatskom velodrome.
Natallia first gained international notice at the 2000 World Championships in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where she won gold in both the 500mTT and the Sprint
Sprint (cycling)
The sprint or match sprint is a track cycling event involving between 2 and 4 riders, though they are usually run as a one-on-one match race between opponents who, unlike in the individual pursuit, start next to each other.- Racing style :...
, yet these results alone were not sufficient for a qualification for the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. In 2001, she teamed up with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n trainer Stanislav Solovyev (Станислав Соловьев), who has remained her coach throughout her career. She won gold for both the sprint and 500mTT events at three of the four world cups but failed to gain a medal at the 2001 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
She also suffered a severe crash during the sprint qualification rounds, where she broke her collarbone.
Championships from 2002 to 2004
Riding for the first time in international competition under her maiden name of Tsylinskaya, Natallia began the 2002 season by winning both the sprint and 500mTT events at the World Cup races in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Moscow. She followed this by avenging her deceptive performance at the 2001 World Championships by winning gold in both the 500mTT and sprint events at the 2002 World Championships in Ballerup
Ballerup
Ballerup Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Approx. 15 km. From central Copenhagen. The municipality covers an area of 34 km², and has a total population of 47,116 . It is also the name of the municipal seat,...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. With her professional career soaring to new heights, Natallia had also found happiness in the form of Russian bicycle racer Andrey Minashkin. The couple wed on October 18, 2002 in a ceremony in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
In the World Championships of 2003 in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, she won gold in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.078 seconds which still remains Natallia’s personal best time. However, in the sprint event, Natallia met her main rival, Russian track cyclist and good friend Svetlana Grankovskaya
Svetlana Grankovskaya
Svetlana Grankovskaya is an Ukrainian track racing cyclist from Kharkiv, and four times world champion...
, in the final and lost in two straight heats, thus relegating Natallia to the silver medal.
In 2004 the focus was on the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
which took place in August. After victories in Wold Cup races earlier that year, expectations ran high. But at the World Championships in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in May 2004, she collided with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rider Victoria Pendleton
Victoria Pendleton
Victoria Louise Pendleton MBE is a British Olympic and world champion track cyclist. Her father, Max, was also a British national grass-track cycling champion.-Early years:...
’s wheel in the sprint and bruised her right hip in the crash. In the following 500mTT competition, she finished eighth, Australian Anna Meares
Anna Meares
Anna Maree Meares, OAM is an Australian track cyclist.She has been the 500m TT world champion twice, and a gold medalist at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.-Biography:...
winning this event.
At the Olympics in Athens on August 20, 2004, Natallia started as the tenth of 18 cyclists in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.167 seconds, only a fraction of a second slower than her own personal best and enough to put her into gold medal place. Still, she was overtaken by two others: Chinese rider and World Record holder Yonghua Jiang
Yonghua Jiang
Jiang Yonghua is a female Chinese track cyclist. She is a former world record holder for the Women's 500 m Time Trial, which was set on August 11, 2002 in Kunming with a time of 34.000 seconds...
raced a time of 34.112 seconds, slightly slower than her personal best time (and Olympic Record time) of 34.00 seconds, and then Australian rider and newly crowned 500mTT World Champion Anna Meare, who started last, took the gold medal in the new World Record time of 33.952 seconds, thus leaving Natallia only bronze. Natallia was quoted after the race saying "I am very happy to have a medal even if I am not very satisfied with my results. I feel really great, it is my first Olympic medal and I am very happy. I believe that I had a great performance."
Her subsequent performance in the sprint competition came as a deception. She lost in the quarterfinals to Russian cyclist Svetlana Grankovskaya and finished by taking the 5th place only. She has been quoted as saying she "bawled her eyes out when she got back to the locker room and howled for three days after that" because she was so disappointed with her performance.
Season 2005 - Season 2006
Due to scheduling changes in the track cycling season there was barely a two-month break between the end of the Athens Olympics and the beginning of the new season. During this time, Natallia decided to expand her training routine to incorporate KeirinKeirin
is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....
racing. She began the season by appearing at the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
World Cup where she won gold in the 500mTT and in the sprint and also won bronze in the Keirin, losing out to Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares. One month later in January 2005 Natallia rode at the Manchester World Cup where she won gold in the Keirin event The World Championships were held in Los Angeles and proved to be a very mixed event for Natallia. She won gold in the 500mTT race over Anna Meares of Australia by just .014 seconds, but was beaten in the sprint by the Australian Kerrie Meares
Kerrie Meares
Kerrie Meares is an Australian professional racing cyclist. She is the older sister of Anna Meares. She was a contender for the 2004 Olympic team, but pulled out from competition due to nagging injuries, suffered during numerous crashes that occurred during competitions earlier that year.-Career...
after being relegated and subsequently disqualified in the quarterfinals for performing a dangerous maneuver. The Keirin event was equally as dramatic as the sprints, when in the second round, Natallia fell whilst trying to muscle her way into the lead. Luckily Natallia only sustained mild superficial injuries as well as a moderate concussion.
The 2006 season began at the Moscow World Cup where her daughter Masha (then 9 years old) accompanied her. Having family nearby proved good luck for Natallia as she won gold in both the 500mTT event and the sprint. Then Natallia moved on to the Manchester World Cup where she consolidated her season dominance in the 500mTT by taking gold on the first day. A day later, Natallia came second in the sprints losing out to Victoria Pendleton after being relegated in the final. In an unusual move, Natallia opted to partake in three World Cup events in preparation for the World Championships. In the Los Angeles World Cup Natallia again won the 500mTT and the sprint events. The 2006 World Championships were held in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where Natallia won gold in the 500mTT event, posting a time of 34.152 seconds – her fastest time since the 2003 World Championships in Stuttgart A couple of days later, Natallia also took the gold in the sprint event, beating Victoria Pendleton in the final.
Season 2007 - Present
The 2007 track cycling season kicked off in Sydney Australia where Round 1 of the World Cup series was held from the 17–19 November 2006. On the first day of competition, Natallia participated in the Sprints competition where she posted a qualifying time of 11.475 seconds which was fifth fastest for the day. Natallia then went on to ride successfully against Anna Meares of Australia in the quarterfinals and Clara Sanchez from FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the semi-finals. In the final Natallia met Great Britain champion Victoria Pendleton and was pushed to a deciding third ride before taking the Gold medal. The next day Natallia participated in the 500mTT where she scored a disappointing time of 35.023 seconds. It was in this event that Anna Meares broke her own world record attained in Athens by .008seconds. On the last day Natallia was unable to advance to the final of the keirin event after being knocked out in the second round.
The second round of the world cup series was held in Moscow, Russia on the 15–17 December. As in Sydney, the first event for Natallia was the sprints where she recorded a qualifying time of 10.984. Natallia backed up her success in Sydney by once again making it through to the final where she met an up and coming 19 year old Cuban Lizandra Guerra. Natallia needed only two rides to defeat her opponent, however the first ride needed to be determined by a photofinish showing Natallia crossing the line first by the barest of margins. On December 16 the 500mTT was held with Natallia having to settle for second place behind Cuban Lizandra Guerra with a time of 34.802 seconds. On the final day of competition Natallia rode in the Keirin event where she improved on her performance in Sydney by making it to the final, where she finished in fifth place.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, she qualified seventh fastest in the preliminary heats for the sprint event but was beaten by Clara Sanchez in the first round. Tsylinskaya won the repechage only to be beaten by Guo Shuang
Guo Shuang
Guo Shuang is a Chinese professional track cyclist. She won two bronze medals at the 2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in Sprint and Keirin, and two silver medals at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, again in Sprint and Keirin.Guo had an eventful semi-final in the sprint at...
, who went on to take the bronze medal. Tsylinskaya was placed sixth overall at the end of the competition.