 Pozdniakova in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Sonya, Pozdni[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Russian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1997-06-17)17 June 1997 (age 28)[3] Novosibirsk, Russia[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fencing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Fencing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Russia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon | Sabre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hand | right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National coach | Christian Bauer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club |
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| Head coach | Aleksandr Shirshov, Sergey Stepankin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIE ranking | current ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova (Russian:София Станиславовна Позднякова,IPA:[sɐˈfʲijəpəzʲnʲɪˈkovə]; formerlySofia Lokhanova;[4] born 17 June 1997) is a Russian right-handedsabrefencer, 2018 individual world champion, 2019 team world champion, 2021 individualOlympic champion, and 2021 team Olympic champion.[5] She is aRussian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve.[1] In January 2024, she was included in the list of proxies of presidential candidateVladimir Putin in the2024 Russian presidential election.
Pozdniakova was born inNovosibirsk, where she was coached by Sergey Stepankin at the Fencing Center.[6] Both of her parents were fencers: her father,Stanislav Pozdnyakov, is a 4-time Olympic champion, 10-time world champion, and 13-time European champion in individual and team sabre, as well as the President of theRussian Olympic Committee since 2018.[7] Her mother, Anastasia, is Master of Sports and secretary at the Fencing Federation of theNovosibirsk Oblast.[8][9] She decided to follow in her parents' footsteps at the age of 10, and abandoned swimming andacrobatic gymnastics.[9]
Pozdniakova made her international debut in 2017.[7] is the 2018 individual women's sabre world champion, a 2019 team world champion, the 2021 individualOlympic champion, and a 2021 team Olympic champion.[5][10] She is aRussian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve.[1]
Pozdiakova studied Sport and Tourism at the Smolensk State Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, and as of 2018 she planned to become a sports journalist in the future.[11][7] She moved to Moscow in 2015.[2] Since 2016, she has competed forCSKA Moscow.[9]
In September 2020, Pozdiakova marriedSaratov-based two-time world individual junior sabre champion and Olympic fencerKonstantin Lokhanov.[12] He emigrated to the United States in 2022 in the wake of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, however, strongly opposed to Russia's war.[13][14][15][16][17]
Lokhanov invited his wife to join him in America.[18][19] She later said: "As for feelings, love, there was a moment when we did not understand where to go. I got up in the morning and thought: 'That’s it, I’m going to the States.' I was figuring out how I would communicate with my parents, how to explain all this to my dad... He would simply erase me from his life. Then the next day such thoughts: 'So, I’m staying here, my parents, my family - this is important to me.'"[18] After many hours of telephone conversations in which she struggled with her decision, she declined and ultimately filed for divorce; they divorced in 2022.[18][20][21][15][16][17] Her father called his daughter’s decision "the most important gift for Father’s Day."[18] She said she was grateful to Lokhanov for many things, but that the two of them had gone in "different directions."[22]
In January 2024, the Russian state-owned new agencyTASS reported that she was included in the list of proxies of presidential candidateVladimir Putin in the2024 Russian presidential election.[23] By law, self-nominated candidates such as Putin are allowed to have proxies who campaign in their favor.[23] Proxies were expected to be people with high levels of public recognition who publicly supported Putin and Russia's war in Ukraine, and who were willing to spend time campaigning.[24]
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  Tokyo,Japan | Individual Women's Sabre | 1st[25] |
| 2021 | Tokyo,Japan | Team Women's Sabre | 1st[26] |
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |  Wuxi,China | Individual Women's Sabre | 1st[27] |
| 2018 | Wuxi,China | Team Women's Sabre | 2nd[28] |
| 2019 |  Budapest,Hungary | Team Women's Sabre | 1st[29] |
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Tbilisi,Georgia | Team Women's Sabre | 2nd[30] |
| 2018 |  Novi Sad,Serbia | Team Women's Sabre | 1st[31] |
| 2019 |  Düsseldorf,Germany | Team Women's Sabre | 1st[32] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/24/2019 | Moscow,Russia | Individual Women's Sabre | 3rd[33] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/08/2019 |  Athens,Greece | Individual Women's Sabre | 1st[34] |
