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Aliaksandra Viktarauna Herasimenia[a] (born 31 December 1985) is a Belarusian former swimmer.[1]
 Herasimenia in 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 31 December 1985 Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 55 kg (121 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, Backstroke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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After a medal-winning career, including gold at the 2012 World Championships and silver at the 2012 London Olympics, she became a critic of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus, and now lives in exile in Poland.[2]
Swimming career
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She is 2 times olympic runner-up (2012 London) in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle, Olympic bronze medalist (2016 Rio de Janeiro) in the 50-meter freestyle, World Champion (2011 Shanghai) in the 100-meter freestyle, World Champion (25m pool) (2012 Istanbul) in the 50-meter freestyle, European Champion (2010 Budapest) in the 50-meter backstroke, and 3 consecutive times Universiade Champion (2009 Belgrade, 2011 Shenzhen and 2013 Kazan) in the 50-meter freestyle.
Despite a two-year ban for a positive test for norandrosterone in 2003,[3] Herasimenia returned to win gold medals at both the European and World Championships.
At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, tied with Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark in a time of 53.45.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won silver medals in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.
Belarusian political activity
editDuring the 2020 Belarusian protests, Herasimenia was responsible for youth and sports[4] in National Anti-crisis Management, a shadow government created by the Belarusian Coordination Council for the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.[5]
Herasimenia is a founder of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), a group that supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views. In April 2021, she sold her 2012 world championship gold medal to raise funds for the foundation and for legal fees[6] after facing charges from the Belarus Government for criticising them on social media.[7]
She was one of the supporters of Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was threatened with enforced return to Belarus from the Tokyo Olympics after criticising team coaches. Herasimenia sought assistance for Tsimanouskaya from a number of European embassies.[citation needed]
In March 2022 Herasimenia stated her opposition to the Belarusian government’s involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Ukraine has never been our enemy, it is our fraternal people."[8]
On 26 December 2022, Herasimenia was sentenced in absentia by the Minsk City Court to 12 years in prison.[9]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Belarusian: Аляксандра Віктараўна Герасіменя Russian: Алекса́ндра Ви́кторовна Герасиме́ня; Łacinka: Aliaksandra Viktaraŭna Hierasimienia / Aleksandra Gerasimenya
References
edit- ^ "Aliaksandra Herasimenia". FINA. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Multimedalistka olimpijska skazana na 12 lat. Nie czuje się bezpiecznie w Polsce". 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Gerasimenya's Ban Reduced to Two Years". Swimming World Magazine. 26 September 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "National Anti-Crisis Management". National Anti-crisis Management. 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ "Pavel Latushko Announces Establishment Of People's Anti-Crisis Administration". Belarus Feed. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Shefferd, Neil (5 April 2021). "BSSF head Herasimenia puts World Championship gold medal up for sale in response to criminal case opened against her". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Olympic Medalist Aliaksandra Herasimenia Facing Criminal Charges in Belarus For Anti-Government Behavior". Swimming World. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ ""Мы ехалі па сустрэчнай паласе, каб выратавацца". Аляксандра Герасіменя расказала пра сваю эвакуацыю з Украіны" ["We were driving in the oncoming lane to escape." Aliaksandra Herasimenia told about her evacuation from Ukraine]. Наша Ніва // Nasha Niva (in Belarusian). 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Аляксандры Герасімені і Аляксандру Апейкіну завочна прысудзілі 12 гадоў калоніі" [Aliaksandra Herasimenia and Aliaksandr Apeykin were sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia]. Belsat (in Belarusian). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
External links
edit- Aliaksandra Herasimenia at World Aquatics
- Aliaksandra Herasimenia at Swimrankings.net
- Aliaksandra Herasimenia at Olympedia (archive)
- Aliaksandra Herasimenia at Olympics.com
