Yelena Golesheva (Russian:Елена Голешева, marriedScheers; born 12 July 1966) is a Russian-born female formertrack and fieldsprinter who competed for theSoviet Union andRussia, before obtainingBelgian citizenship. She has a personal best of 51.28 seconds for the400 metres, set on 21 June 1989.[1] She won a bronze medal in the 400 metres at the1992 European Indoor Championships, and a silver medal at the1993 World Championships in the 4 × 400 metres relay (ran in the heats only).
She had most of her success in the national4 × 400 metres relay teams. She had her first medals in 1989, taking bronze medals at theUniversiade (withYelena Vinogradova,Margarita Ponomaryova andLyudmila Dzhigalova) andWorld Cup (with Dzhigalova,Marina Shmonina andYelena Ruzina). At the1991 Universiade she took fifth in the individual 400 metres and shared in the relay silver alongsideInna Yevseyeva,Galina Moskvina andAnna Knoroz.
Her greatest individual achievement was at the1992 European Athletics Indoor Championships, where she won a bronze medal behindSandra Myers and fellow SovietOlga Bryzgina.[2] She took two major medals as a heats alternate runner at the1993 World Championships in Athletics and the1994 European Athletics Championships, being switched out forIrina Privalova andSvetlana Goncharenko, respectively. Her last medal as a finalist came at the1994 Goodwill Games, where she,Yelena Andreyeva, Yelena Ruzina, andTatyana Zakharova were the runners-up behind the United States.[3]
She married a Belgian man named Scheers and took Belgian nationality, even going on to win a 400 m title at theBelgian Athletics Championships in 1997.[4][5]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Universiade | Duisburg, West Germany | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:28.60 |
| World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.15 | |
| 1991 | Universiade | Sheffield, United Kingdom | 5th | 400 m | 52.74 |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:29.64 | |||
| 1992 | European Indoor Championships | Genoa, Italy | 3rd | 400 m | 52.07 |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | (heats runner) |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:25.00 |
| European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | (heats runner) |
