Lesia Severynivna Leskiv (also Lessia Leskiv, Ukrainian: Леся Северинівна Леськів; born 17 October 1963 in Rohatyn) is a Ukrainian sport shooter.[2] She represented Ukraine in rifle shooting in the Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, and 2004, finishing within the top fifteen in the games.[1] Leskiv also earned four medals (three silvers and one bronze) at the World Championships, and five more, including three golds, at the European Championships, bringing them up to her remarkable career tally of nine. A full-fledged member of the Lvov Army Forces, Leskiv trained for the shooting club under her personal coach Vadym Vysochyn.[1]

Lessia Leskiv
Personal information
Full nameLesia Severynivna Leskiv
Nationality Ukraine
Born (1963-10-17) 17 October 1963 (age 61)
Rohatyn, Ukrainian SSR,
Soviet Union
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
SportShooting
Event(s)10 m air rifle (AR40)
50 m rifle 3 positions (STR3X20)
300 m rifle 3 positions
(300STR3X20)
ClubClub Lvov Army Forces[1]
Coached byVyacheslav Vysochyn[1]
Medal record
Women's shooting
World Championships
Representing  Ukraine
Silver medal – second place 1994 Milan STR3X20
Representing the  Soviet Union
Silver medal – second place 1982 Caracas STR3X20
Silver medal – second place 1982 Caracas AR40
European Championships
Representing  Ukraine
Gold medal – first place 1993 Brno STR60PR
Gold medal – first place 2017 Baku 50m rifle prone team
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Bordeaux STR60PR
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Osijek 300STR3X20
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Maribor 300STR3X20
Representing the  Soviet Union
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Bologna STR60PR

Leskiv started out as a member of the Soviet shooting squad at the 1984 Friendship Games in Moscow, where she took home the silver medal in the rifle three positions. Although she missed out a chance to compete in two succeeding editions of the Olympic Games, Leskiv managed to successfully claim four medals, three silvers and one bronze, in rifle shooting at the ISSF World Shooting Championships between 1982 and 1994.[1]

Following Ukraine's official debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as an independent nation, Leskiv was selected to compete for the nation's Olympic shooting squad. She wound up an eighth spot in the 10 m air rifle, and then shared a ninth position with Switzerland's Gaby Bühlmann and Germany's Petra Horneber in the 50 m rifle 3 positions, accumulating a tally of 494.2 and 579 points, respectively.[3][4]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Leskiv dropped her position from the previous Games to fifteenth with a score of 392 points in the 10 m air rifle.[5] She redeemed herself with a score of 579 in the prelims to share the ninth spot with Norway's Lindy Hansen in the 50 m rifle 3 positions, but fell short of a chance to compete for the final by a single point.[6]

Eight years after competing in her first Olympics, Leskiv qualified for her third Ukrainian team, as a 40-year-old, in rifle shooting at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens by finishing seventh and having achieved a minimum score of 398 in the 10 m air rifle from the 2004 ISSF World Cup series.[7] In the women's 10 m air rifle, Leskiv finished fourteenth in the prelims with a total score of 394, tying her position with five other shooters including her teammate Natallia Kalnysh.[8] On her second event, the 50 m rifle 3 positions, Leskiv got off to a rough start in the prone with 192 points and then continued to drop rapidly into the bottom of the field by a two-point deficit in the standing position with 190. Ending towards the kneeling series smoothly with a satisfying shot of 193, Leskiv collected a total of 575 points to share a thirteenth spot with Bühlmann and India's Anjali Bhagwat in the prelims, but failed to advance further into the final round by a four-point deficit.[9]

Olympic results

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Event 1996 2000 2004
50 metre rifle three positions 9th
579
9th
579
13th
575
10 metre air rifle 8th
394+100.2
15th
392
14th
394

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "ISSF Profile – Lessia Leskiv". ISSF. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lessia Leskiv". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Atlanta 1996: Shooting – Women's 10m Air Rifle" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 119. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Atlanta 1996: Shooting – Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 120. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Sydney 2000: Shooting – Women's 10m Air Rifle" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 78–80. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Sydney 2000: Shooting – Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 81–86. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. ^ Sadovnik, Olena (15 January 2004). "Афіни чекають" [Waiting for Athens] (in Ukrainian). Postup. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Shooting: Women's 10m Air Rifle Prelims". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Shooting: Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Prelims". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
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