Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Spinal Cord Injuries |
Origin of Impairment |
Acquired |
Classification |
S4, SB4, SM4 |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Daughter Rufiya [1999] |
Residence |
Taraz, KAZ |
Languages |
Russian |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began Para swimming in 1991 at age 25 in Taraz, Kazakhstan. |
Why this sport? |
She switched from wheelchair racing to swimming. |
Club / Team |
Zhambyl Regional Sports Club for People with Impairments: Taraz, KAZ |
Name of coach |
Sattar Beysembayev [personal], KAZ, from 2007 |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Playing toguz kumalak [game]. (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning gold in the S3 100m freestyle at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019) |
Most influential person in career |
Coach Sattar Beysembayev. (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019) |
Hero / Idol |
Kazakhstani weightlifter Ilya Ilyin. (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"The last one to leave training will be the first one to come to finish." (the-steppe.com, 02 Oct 2019) |
Awards and honours |
She was named 2018 Best Female Athlete of the Year at the annual People's Favourite Awards in Kazakhstan. (paralympic.org, 25 Jan 2019)
In 2016 she received the Barys Order [second grade] in Kazakhstan. (akorda.kz, 13 Dec 2016)
She received the 2015 Sports Award from the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan in the Overcoming of the Year nomination. (dknews.kz, 19 Apr 2016)
She has received the title of Honoured Master of Sport in Kazakhstan. (kazsports.kz, 20 Dec 2017) |
Milestones |
She became the first Kazakhstani athlete to win a medal at the summer Paralympic Games when she claimed gold in the S3 100m freestyle at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (paralympic.org, 28 Sep 2016) |
Ambitions |
To win gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (the-steppe.com, 02 Oct 2019) |
Impairment |
At age five she was hit by a motorbike and sustained spinal cord injuries, a concussion and multiple fractures. (vlast.kz, 11 Nov 2015) |
