Elena Belova

"Yelena Belova-Novikova" redirects here. Not to be confused with Yelena Belova, Yelena Belova (biathlete), or Elena Novikova.
For other people named Elena Belova, see Elena Belova (disambiguation).
Elena Belova
Elena Belova c. 1974
Personal information
Full nameElena Dmitriyevna Novikova-Belova (née Novikova)
Born (1947-07-28) 28 July 1947 (age 77)
Sovetskaya Gavan, Khabarovsk Kray, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb)
Sport
SportFencing
ClubDynamo Minsk
Army Club Minsk
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1968 Mexico City Foil, ind.
Gold medal – first place 1968 Mexico City Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal Foil, team
Bronze medal – third place 1976 Montreal Foil, ind.
Silver medal – second place 1980 Moscow Foil, team
Pierre de Coubertin medal 2007
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1969 Havana Foil, ind.
Silver medal – second place 1969 Havana Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1970 Ankara Foil, team
Silver medal – second place 1970 Ankara Foil, ind.
Gold medal – first place 1971 Vienna Foil, team
Silver medal – second place 1973 Gothenburg Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1974 Grenoble Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1975 Budapest Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1977 Buenos Aires Foil, team
Silver medal – second place 1977 Buenos Aires Foil, ind.
Gold medal – first place 1978 Hamburg Foil, team
Gold medal – first place 1979 Melbourne Foil, team

Elena Dmitriyevna Novikova-Belova (Russian: Елена Дмитриевна Новикова-Белова, née Novikova, born 28 July 1947) is a retired Russian foil fencer, known professionally simply as Elena Belova. She competed at the 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics in the individual and team events and won four gold, one silver and one bronze medal, becoming the first female fencer to win four Olympic gold medals. She nearly won a fifth gold in 1976, but lost her last pool match to the last-placed fencer. Belova also won eight world titles, individually in 1969, and with the Soviet team in 1970–1979.[1]

Shortly before the 1968 Olympics, she married Vyacheslav Belov, a future world champion in modern pentathlon, and hyphenated her last name from Novikova to Novikova-Belova.[1] She retired after the 1980 Olympics, and gave birth in 1987, aged 40. After divorcing Belov, she married her second husband, composer Valery Ivanov, who devoted a waltz to her, while keeping the surname Novikova-Belova.[2]

In 1970, Belova graduated from the Minsk Institute of Pedagogy, she holds a PhD in this discipline. In 1997 she was awarded the Olympic Order in Silver, and in 2007 the Pierre de Coubertin Medal.[3][4] On 14 May 2021, Jovian asteroid 24426 Belova, discovered by astronomers with the LINEAR program in 2000, was named in her honor.[5]

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  4. ^ Elena Belova Awarded Pierre de Coubertin Medal. National Olympic Committee of Belarus.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WGSBN-Bulletin-Archive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).