Elena Tkachenko

Elena Tkachenko
Personal information
Country represented	Belarus
Former countries represented	Ukraine
Born	(1983-07-31) July 31, 1983 Sevastopol, Ukraine SSR
Residence	Minsk, Belarus
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Irina Leparskaya
Retired	2002
Medal record Representing Belarus Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 2001 Madrid Clubs 2001 Madrid Team 1999 Osaka Team European Championships 2000 Zaragoza Team 2001 Geneva Rope 2001 Geneva Ball World Games 2001 Akita Rope 2001 Akita Hoop 2001 Akita Ball 2001 Akita Clubs

Elena Tkachenko (born July 31, 1983 in Sevastopol, Ukraine) is an Individual Rhythmic Gymnast who competed for Belarus.

Career

Tkachenko started doing gymnastics in Sevastopol at age 8 years old, which is by some standards is considered late for rhythmic gymnastics development. At 10 years old, she and her family moved to Simferopol where she met her first coach Liubov Serebrianskaya.

When she turned 16, she got an opportunity to move to Belarus through the idea appeared after the conversations between Liubov Serebrianskaya and Belarus Head coach Irina Leparskaya. Tkachenko has said "I couldn't show my talent on my homeland. On National competitions I took 13-15 places and when I went to international competitions, I was often higher than other Ukrainian girls. So when I was asked if I want to move to Minsk, I said with no doubts : "Yes!".

Tkachenko's move to Belarus changed her rankings dramatically within a year she became No.3 gymnast in Belarus and No.2 after the retirement of Lera Vatkina. She began competing in more international competitions and with the year 2001 becoming her most successful season winning silver in clubs at the 2001 World Championships in Madrid and 4 bronze medals at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan. Tkachenko completed her career in 2002 season.

External links

• Rhythmic Gymnastics Results
• Elena Tkachenko at the World Games