Elena Semechin


Elena Semechin is a blind German Paralympic swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle. She has macular degeneration, leaving her with only 3% vision.

Early life and career

Born in Novo-Voskresenovka, a village in southern Kazakhstan, Elena Krawzow emigrated with her German-Kazakhstani family, moving to Russia, where she was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Whilst in Russia, Krawzow attend a boarding school for disabled children, before resettling in Germany aged 11.
Krawzow won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke - SB13 at the 2012 London Paralympics before finishing fifth in the same event at Rio 2016.; she went on to win the gold medal in Swimming at the [2020 Summer Paralympics – Women's 100 metre breaststroke SB13|the same category] at Tokyo 2020.

Personal life

In October 2020 Krawzow appeared topless on the front cover of the German edition of Playboy. She got engaged to her boyfriend Phillip Semechin in the aftermath of Tokyo 2020. In 2021 she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. In 2021, she married her coach and took his last name. On September 16, 2025, they became parents of a son.