Natalia Shliakhtenko


Natalia Sergeyevna Shliakhtenko is a Russian professional triathlete, Master of Sport, and reserve member of the National Team.

Russian Competitions

In Russia, Shliakhtenko had her definite breakthrough in the year 2004 when she won the Junior Championships.
In 2005 again, she won the Junior Championships and also the team competition of the University Championships for her university, the State Technological and Design University of St. Petersburg, finishing in the second place in the individual ranking.
In the subsequent year, she took part in the First Summer Spartakiad of the Russian Youth held in Khanty-Mansiysk on 2 August 2006, and won the gold medal in triathlon. For this great success she was included into a ministerial list of some 600 meritorious young sportsmen and sportswomen to be granted 60,000 rubles each. In this list, however, a state-run elite sports school is given as Natalia Shliakhtenko's institution, not the Technological University for which she won gold in the previous year.
In the years 2008/09 and 2009/10, Shliakhtenko also won the swimming championship of her university.
At the Russian Championships of the year 2009 in Penza she represented her St. Petersburg club Dinamo and placed third in the U23 Sprint and fourth in the U23 competition on the Olympic Distance. In the team ranking, however, she placed fourth in the Elite category.
According to the Russian Triathlon Federation's ranking of the year 2009 she was number 7 among all Russian female elite triathletes and placed fifth in the Russian Cup, sharing this position with Yevgeniya Sukhoruchenkova.
In the same year, she was conferred upon the prestigious title Master of Sports and had almost won two medals at two Asian Cup triathlons, which, however, were not competitive since in Kokshetau, for instance, apart from Shliakhtenko there were only four female competitors, one from Ukraine and three from Russia.
In 2009 Shliakhtenko also won the silver medal at the World Police and Fire Games in Canada representing the Russian Home Affairs Ministry.
At the Russian Triathlon Championships of the year 2010 she won the U23 bronze medal on the Olympic Distance behind Burova and Mariya Shorets, in the Elite Russian Cup ranking she placed second although she took part in only two of the seven events, and she was no. 7 in the overall female ranking.
At the Russian Elite Aquathlon Championships 2011, Shliakhtenko placed 6th.
At the World Police and Fire Games 2011 in New York, Shliakhtenko again represented the Russian Home Affairs Ministry as a Senior Police Sergeant and won 10 medals in various swimming and running disciplines.

French Club Championship Series

In 2010, like the Ukrainian triathlete Inna Tsyganok, Shliakhtenko represented Stade Poitevin Triathlon at the prestigious French Club Championship Series Lyonnaise des Eaux.
At the first triathlon of this circuit at Dunkirk, Shliakhtenko placed 38th and, as her club's second best runner, she was among the three athlètes classants l'equipe, all of whom were foreign guest stars: Felicity Sheedy Ryan, Shliakhtenko and Holly Lawrence. Nevertheless, the club's president, Bruno Grignard, was discontented.
At the Grand Prix triathlon in Paris Shliakhtenko placed 24th.
In 2011, Shlyakhtenko is not part of Stade Poitevin Triathlon any longer. At the Triathlon de Dunkerque, however, she again represented Stade Poitevin replacing Holly Lawrence although Shlyakhtenko's name does not appear in the official start list.
Shlyakhtenko placed 33rd in the individual ranking and thus was among Stade Poitevin's three triathlètes classants l'équipe.

ITU Competitions

In the eight years from 2003 to 2010, Shliakhtenko took part in 17 ITU competitions and achieved 6 top ten positions.
In 2003, she took part in her first European Cup and, at the age of 16, she placed 22nd among the World Elite.
Natalia's sisters Galina, who is also a well known free diver and the Russian 2010 free diving silver medalist, and Tanya placed 19th and 26th at the same triathlon in Alanya, which henceforth should become Natalia Shliakhtenko’s home competition, as it were. In 2006 Natalia Shliakhtenko won the Junior gold medal in Alanya, and in 2009 she placed 12th in the Elite category, having already achieved an Elite top-ten position in 2008, as she did in 2010.
Unless indicated otherwise, all the following events are triathlons and belong to the Elite category.
DateITU CompetitionPlaceRank
2003-10-22 European CupAlanya22
2004-10-27 European CupAlanya16
2005-07-23 European Championships Alexandroupoli41
2005-10-26 Premium European CupAlanya27
2006-06-23 European Championships Autun29
2006-09-02 World Championships Lausanne38
2006-10-18 European Cup Alanya1
2007-07-21 European Championships Kuopio19
2007-07-21 European Championships : Women Team RelayKuopio4
2007-10-24 Premium European CupAlanya23
2008-06-28 9th University World Championships Erdek26
2008-10-26 Premium European CupAlanya10
2009-07-05 Premium Asia CupBurabay5
2009-07-12 Asia CupKokshetau4
2009-10-25 Premium European CupAlanya12
2010-04-11 European CupQuarteiraDSQ
2010-10-24 Premium European CupAlanya9
2011-04-03 European CupAntalya25