Maria Iovleva
Dmitry Medvedev and Maria Iovleva, 2010
Maria Iovleva (born 18 February 1990) is a Russian biathlete and cross-country skier representing Russia at the 2010 Winter Paralympics.[1]
Women's 2.4km Pursuit Sitting Biathlon flower ceremony at the 2010 Paralympics. Olena Iurkovska of Ukraine (gold), Maria Iovleva of Russia (silver), Lyudmyla Pavlenko of Ukraine (bronze).
She won two medals in sitting biathlon, one of them gold[2] and was on the gold medal team of women's cross-country relay.[3] She is deaf and paralyzed. She lives in a home with twelve other disabled women, but she dreams of getting an apartment of her own due to her medal wins.[4]