Honor Swimmer




Larisa Ilchenko – Honor Swimmer
Larisa Dmitriyevna Ilchenko was the gold medalist in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Identified as a world-class swimmer with greater potential in the open water than the pool at the age of 14, she regularly won her races with a classic come-from-behind victory sprint over the last 100 meters. Throughout her remarkable career, the Russian open water swimming star won eight World Championships between 2005 and 2008 and culminated her career at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at age 19. She was been named Swimming World Magazine’s World Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year and dominated the elite open water swimming world since her first FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in 2004, where she won the 5K at the age of 16.
At the 2005 FINA World Swimming Championships in Montreal, she won the 5K again. At the 2006 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Napoli, Italy, she doubled up with victories in the 5K and 10K, again winning with her trademark closing sprint. By 2007 and 2008, the juggernaut was firmly established and she confidently swaggered her way onshore while dominating the last part of every race she swam. Her career culminated at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10K Marathon Swim when she won the first gold in open water swimming in very dramatic fashion.