Olesya Vladykina

Olesya Yuriyevna Vladykina is a Paralympic swimmer from Russia competing mainly in category SB8 events.
Vladykina competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. She won gold in the 100m Breaststroke, setting a new world record time. She also finished fourth in the 200m individual medley.

Career

Vladykina started swimming at Young People's Olympic Reserve Sports School 47 and practiced the sport professionally for 10 years until her entrance to Moscow State University of Railway Engineering, when she concentrated on her studies, leaving active swimming for a year until her injury.
She lost her left arm when she and some friends were in Thailand on holiday and their touring bus overturned; she also suffered the loss of her best friend in the accident. She resumed training a month after she was released from the hospital, and five months later she won the Beijing Paralympic final.