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After Ukraine’s women’s saber fencing team won its first gold at 2024 Olympics on Aug. 3, saber fencer Olga Kharlan becomes the most decorated Olympian in Ukraine’s history by medal count. Ukraine has so far won three medals at the Paris Olympics.Kharlan’s achievements now include two gold medals, a 2016 silver medal in team events, along with three individual bronze medals (2012, 2016, 2024). Previously swimmer Yana Klochkova, who retired in 2008, held Ukraine’s record with five medals. In many ways, Kharlan has become a leading figure for Ukrainian athletes opposing Russia’s aggression. Her status solidified in July 2023, when she refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent, Anna Smirnova, at the world championships in Milan. This stance led to her disqualification and cost her valuable Olympic qualifying points. However, despite receiving a guaranteed entry for Paris from Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee and a former fencer himself, Kharlan and her teammates qualified on their own merit.The 33-year-old champion is a native of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, where she graduated from the local school of physical culture. Her father was also a professional athlete in sailing.At the age of 14, Kharlan made a sensational debut at the senior European Championships, advancing to the quarter-finals. The following year, in 2005, she competed in her first World Championships.Throughout her career, Kharlan has achieved remarkable success, becoming a six-time world champion, an eight-time European champion, and winning two gold medals at the European Games.https://kyivindependent.com/womens-saber-fencing-team-win-ukraines-first-gold-at-2024-olympics/Ukraine’s women’s saber fencing team won the country’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, defeating South Korea with a score of 45-42 in the finals.Ukraine’s five-time Olympic medalist Olga Kharlan, along with fencers Olena Kravatska, Alina Komashchuk, and Yuliia Bakastova, made their way to the Olympic finals by beating Italy and Japan.
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