Ruslana Taran
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Date of birth:
Place of birth:
Height:
Weight:
Sport:
Event: |
Oct. 10, 1970
Yevpatoria, Ukraine
1.63m
52kg
Sailing
"470" |
When she was 10, Ruslana Taran's brother Maksym took her to a yacht club
in Yevpatoria, Crimea, and introduced her to sailing. (Unfortunately Maksym did not live
to see his sister's sailing successes as he was killed in action during the war in
Afghanistan.)
Ruslana Taran enrolled at the Dnipropetrovsk Institute of Physical
Education in 1986 with the intention of becoming a sailing coach. That same year she
started training with coach Viktor Kovalenko and competing at the national level in the
"470" class.
In 1988 Taran and her partner Svitlana Oleksina competed internationally
for the first time and took 11th place at the World Championships.
It took several years of hard work and emotional upheaval before Taran
and Oleksina started to achieve greater success. In 1993 they won the European
Championship and took first place at the International Regatta in Japan. The European
victory was especially sweet for Taran. It was her first victory as well as the first for
newly-independent Ukraine in class "470".
Despite their success, Taran and Oleksina terminated their partnership
in 1994.
With new partner Nataliya Hapanovych, Taran continued to compete in the
"470" class winning a silver medal at the 1994 World Championships in France and
placing 1st at the International SPA Regatta in Holland.
Although the Taran - Hapanovych partnership was also successful, it
lasted under one year. In the spring of 1995, Taran teamed up with a new partner, Olena
Paholchik, who was just returning to competitive sailing after a two-year (maternity)
absence. The duo gelled quickly winning the 1995 European Championship, placing second at
the Worlds, and winning the overall World Cup title based on the cumulation of the
season's results.
Major Results
| Year |
Competition |
Site |
Event |
Partner |
Result |
| 1993 |
European Championships |
Austria |
"470" |
S. Oleksina |
1 |
| |
SPA |
Holland |
"470" |
S. Oleksina |
2 |
| |
Shiseido Cup |
Japan |
"470" |
S. Oleksina |
1 |
| 1994 |
World Championships |
La Rochelle |
"470" |
N. Hapanovych |
2 |
| |
SPA |
Holland |
"470" |
N. Hapanovych |
1 |
| 1995 |
World Championships |
Toronto |
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
2 |
| |
European Championships |
|
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
1 |
| |
Shiseido Cup |
Japan |
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
3 |
| |
Kiel Week |
Kiel |
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
2 |
| |
Pre-Olympic Regatta |
Savannah |
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
3 |
| 1996 |
European Championships |
Hayling Island |
"470" |
O. Paholchik |
1 |
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