Julija Tchepalova

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Medal record
Women's cross country skiing
Olympic Games
Gold	1998 Nagano	30 km freestyle
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Individual sprint
Gold	2006 Turin	4 x 5 km
Silver	2002 Salt Lake City	10 km classical
Silver	2006 Turin	30 km freestyle
Bronze	2002 Salt Lake City	15 km freestyle
World Championships
Gold	2001 Lahti	4 x 5 km
Gold	2005 Oberstdorf	7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit
Silver	2005 Oberstdorf	10 km
Silver	2005 Oberstdorf	4 x 5 km
Bronze	2001 Lahti	Individual sprint
Bronze	2005 Oberstdorf	Team sprint

Julija Tchepalova (Russian: Юлия Чепалова) (born December 23, 1976 in Komsomolsk, Russian SFSR) is a Russian cross-country skier.

Daughter of a cross-country skiing coach, Tchepalova started to ski as soon as she began to walk. Coached by her father, Anatoly Tchepalov, Tchepalova made her debut in 1986 and continued to move upward through the old Soviet system (Later Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991.). Tchepalov, a coach of the Russian junior national team, reportedly sold off all of his assets to help finance his daughter's career. Tchepalova is currently affiliated with Dynamo Moscow, lives in Moscow with her husband, Dmiitri Liaschenko and her daughter Olesja; works as a sports instructor, and speaks fluent Russian and some German.

Debuting on the FIS cross-country circuit in the 1995-1996 season, Tchepalova has continually ranked in the Top 15 throughout her career (The lone exception is the 2002-3 season, where she took maternity leave to have her daughter Olesja), finishing #1 overall in 2000-1 (#3 in 2005-6 with #1 in the distance category (greater than 5 km)). This includes success at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with golds in the 4 x 5 km (2001) and 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit (2005), silvers in the 4 x 5 km and 10 km freestyle (both 2005), and bronzes in the Individual sprint (2001) and Team sprint (2005). Additionally, Tchepalova has won the Women's 30 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times (1999, 2004, and 2006), joining fellow Russian cross-country skier Larissa Lazutina as the only three-time winners of the event.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Tchepalova 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, Tchepalova 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 most recent Winter Olympics in Turin, Tchepalova would win two more medals with a gold in the 4 x 5 km and a silver in the 30 km freestyle mass start.

[edit] See also

• Cross country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Cross country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Cross country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics

[edit] External links

• Athlete profile (Russian)
• 2006 Winter Olympics profile.
• FIS Profile
• Holmenkollen Winners since 1892

Olympic champions in women's 30 km cross-country skiing

As 20 km - 1984: Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen | 1988: Tamara Tikhonova

As 30 km - 1992: Stefania Belmondo | 1994: Manuela Di Centa | 1998: Julija Tchepalova | 2002: Gabriella Paruzzi | 2006: Kateřina Neumannová

Olympic champions in women's cross country skiing 4 x 5 km relay

(As 3 x 5 km) 1956 Finland Sirkka Polkunen, Mirja Hietamies, & Siiri Rantanen 1960 Sweden Irma Johansson, Britt Strandberg, & Sonja Ruthström-Edström 1964 Soviet Union Alevtina Kolchina, Yevdokiya Mekshilo, & Klavdija Bojarskikh 1968 Norway Inger Aufles, Babben Enger Damon, & Berit Mørdre Lammedal 1972 Soviet Union Lyubov Mukhacheva, Alevtina Olyunina, & Galina Kulakova (As 4 x 5 km) 1976 Soviet Union Nina Baldycheva, Zinaida Amosova, Raisa Smetanina, & Galina Kulakova 1980 East Germany Marlies Rostock, Carola Anding, Veronika Schmidt, & Barbara Petzold 1984 Norway Inger Helene Nybråten, Anne Jahren, Brit Pettersen, & Berit Aunli 1988 Soviet Union Svetlana Nageykina, Nina Gavrilyuk, Tamara Tikhonova, & Anfisa Reztsova 1992 Unified Team Yelena Välbe, Raisa Smetanina, Larisa Lazutina, & Lyubov Yegorova 1994 Russia Yelena Välbe, Larisa Lazutina, Nina Gavrilyuk, & Lyubov Yegorova 1998 Russia Nina Gavrilyuk, Olga Danilova, Yelena Välbe, & Larisa Lazutina 2002 Germany Manuela Henkel, Viola Bauer, Claudia Künzel, & Evi Sachenbacher 2006 Russia Natalia Baranova-Masolkina, Larisa Kurkina, Julija Tchepalova, & Evgenia Medvedeva-Abruzova

World champions in women's cross country combined/double pursuit
1993: Stefania Belmondo | 1995: Larisa Lazutina | 1997: Yelena Välbe | 1999: Stefania Belmondo | 2001: Virpi Kuitunen | 2003: Kristina Šmigun | 2005: Julija Tchepalova

World champions in women's cross country skiing 4 x 5 km relay

(As 3 x 5 km) 1954 Soviet Union Ljubov Kozyreva, Margarita Maslennikova, & Valentina Tsareva 1958 Soviet Union Radia Yeroshina, Alevtina Kolchina, & Ljubov Kozyreva 1962 Soviet Union Ljubov Kozyreva, Maria Gusakova, & Alevtina Kolchina 1966 Soviet Union Klavdija Bojarskikh, Rita Achkina, & Alevtina Kolchina 1970 Soviet Union Nina Baldycheva, Galina Kulakova, & Alevtina Olyunina (As 4 x 5 km) 1974 Soviet Union Nina Baldycheva, Nina Selyunina, Raisa Smetanina, & Galina Kulakova 1978 Finland Taina Impiö, Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen, Hilkka Riihivuori, & Helena Takalo 1982 Norway Anette Bøe, Inger Helene Nybråten, Berit Aunli, & Brit Pettersen 1985 Soviet Union Tamara Tikhonova, Raisa Smetanina, Liliya Vassilchenko, & Anfisa Romanova 1987 Soviet Union Tamara Tikhonova, Nina Gavrilyuk, Larisa Ptistyna, & Anfisa Reztsova 1989 Finland Pirkko Määttä, Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi, Jaana Savolainen, & Marjo Matikainen 1991 Soviet Union Lyubov Yegorova, Raisa Smetanina, Tamara Tikhonova, & Yelena Välbe 1993 Russia Yelena Välbe, Larisa Lazutina, Nina Gavrilyuk, & Lyubov Yegorova 1995 Russia Olga Danilova, Yelena Välbe, Larisa Lazutina, & Nina Gavrilyuk 1997 Russia Olga Danilova, Larisa Lazutina, Nina Gavrilyuk, & Yelena Välbe 1999 Russia Olga Danilova, Larisa Lazutina, Anfisa Reztsova, & Nina Gavrilyuk 2001 Russia Olga Danilova, Larisa Lazutina, Julija Tchepalova, & Nina Gavrilyuk 2003 Germany Manuela Henkel, Viola Bauer, Claudia Künzel, & Evi Sachenbacher 2005 Norway Vibeke Skofterud, Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen, Kristin Størmer Steira, & Marit Bjørgen