Slovak · Tyumen, Russia · Born 28 August 1984Russian-born Slovak biathlete and her adopted country's most decorated Olympian, the only woman in biathlon history to win an individual gold medal at three consecutive Winter Games.
Anastasia Kuzmina was born Anastasiya Shipulina on 28 August 1984 in Tyumen, Russia, and represented Russia as a junior before being dropped from its senior World Cup roster in 2007. After marrying Israeli-born cross-country skier and coach Daniel Kuzmin, who had relocated to Slovakia, she switched her competitive allegiance to her husband's adopted country in December 2008, making her the second Slovak, and the first for independent Slovakia, to compete internationally in biathlon at an elite level. Kuzmina's move paid off almost immediately, winning silver at the 2009 World Championships within months of her switch. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she won gold in the sprint and silver in the pursuit, becoming just the second Slovak athlete ever, and the first for independent Slovakia, to win a Winter Olympics gold medal. She defended her sprint title at the 2014 Sochi Games, and at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics won silver in both the pursuit and individual events before adding gold in the mass start, hitting 19 of 20 targets to become the first biathlete of either gender in history to win an individual gold medal at three consecutive Olympic Games. Kuzmina retired in 2019 after winning her first individual World Championship title and leading the World Cup in victories that season, having become Slovakia's most decorated Olympian of all time with six career medals. After nearly five years away, raising her two children with her husband and coach, she announced a surprise comeback in October 2023, and competed again at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics at age 41, without a medal but as an enduring symbol of the sport's longevity and support for athletes from smaller winter sport nations.
Becoming the only biathlete in history, male or female, to win an individual Olympic gold medal at three consecutive Winter Games
How They Played
Technically precise sprint specialist known for exceptional shooting accuracy under pressure across sprint, pursuit, and mass start formats
Lasting Impact
Regarded as the greatest athlete in Slovak Winter Olympics history, whose sustained dominance for a small winter sports nation became a source of enduring national pride
Career Honours
- 3x Olympic Gold Medalist - only woman to win individual gold at 3 consecutive Games
- Slovakia's most decorated Olympian ever (6 medals)
- First Winter Olympic gold medalist for independent Slovakia
- 2019 World Champion, Sprint
Slovak Athletes