Nadezhda Skardino

Sport: Biathlon

Born: 27 March 1985

Birthplace: Saint Petersburg

Honors:

Honored Master of Sport of the Republic of Belarus

Order of the Fatherland 3rd Class, 2014

Order for Personal Gallantry, 2018

Career highlights:

Gold (4x6km Relay), Olympic Games in PyeongChang, 2018

Bronze (15km Individual), Olympic Games in Sochi, 2014

Gold (4x6km Relay), Biathlon European Championships in Bansko, 2007

Gold (10km Pursuit), IBU Open European Championships in Tyumen, 2016

Silver (10km Pursuit), Biathlon World Cup in Antholz, 2013/2014

Bronze (7.5 km Sprint), IBU Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka, 2012/2013, 2013/2014

Bronze (12.5 km Mass Start), IBU Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka, 2014/2015

Gold, (15km Individual), IBU Biathlon World Cup in Ostersund, 2017/2018

Small Crystal Globe in individual races, 2017/2018.

Biography:

Nadezhda Skardino was born in Saint Petersburg to a large family: she has four sisters and two brothers. Together with her sister, Nadezhda took up cross-country skiing at a young age. She was not fast enough on the track, which was why she even thought of giving up sport. In 2004, she received an offer to move to Belarus and to try biathlon, where the athlete could make up for insufficient speed with accurate shooting. In 2006 Nadezhda Skardino joined the Belarusian national biathlon team. She moved to the World Cup circuit in the 2006/2007 season and landed 44th in the Individual in Ostersund.

The Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver were the first Olympics in her career. Nadezhda Skardino made it to the top 30 in all individual events, while the Belarusian team was 7th in the Relay.

In the 2012/2013 inter-Olympic season, the athlete won the Sprint bronze at the World Cup in Pokljuka, her first-ever World Cup medal.

In the 2013/2014 Olympic season, Nadezhda Skardino set a world record for shooting accuracy. She passed 22 shooting lines in a row without a miss (110+ targets). Neither women nor men have ever been able to break this record. As the athlete noted in various interviews, it is more important for her to shoot clean than to be the fastest on the track. In that season Nadezhda Skardino graced the World Cup podium twice (Pursuit and Sprint).

The 2014 Olympics in Sochi brought a long-awaited Olympic medal. On 14 February, 82 athletes from 32 countries entered the track in the Laura ski and biathlon complex to compete for a medal in the 15km Individual. Thanks to sniper accuracy, Nadezhda Skardino took the bronze at 1:38.2 and shared the podium with her teammate Darya Domracheva who won the gold medal.

After the Sochi Olympics, the most accurate Belarusian biathlete had to undergo two eye surgeries as her vision deteriorated. The athlete was able to continue her career, she had to change from shooting her right eye to the left. Without becoming a left-handed shot, a bespoke rifle stock (one of the most unique in biathlon) was created for her that moved her rifle barrel/sights to the left side.

The 2017/2018 Olympic season brought Nadezhda Skardino the World Cup Individual Score and the small Crystal Globe.

On 22 February in 2018, Nadezhda Skardino and her teammates Darya Domracheva, Iryna Kryuko and Dzinara Alimbekava won the Olympic gold in the 4x6km Relay at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. The victorious team completed the course in a time of 1 hour 12 minutes 3.4 seconds (no penalty loops, 9 extra bullets).

That win kicked the 2014 Olympic bronze to second place on Skardino’s highlights list. The winners of the relay were awarded the Order for Personal Gallantry by the decision of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

In June 2018 Nadezhda Skardino announced retirement from sport.