Olha Kharlan participant in fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – women's team sabre
Olha Hennadiyivna Kharlan (Ukrainian: Ольга Геннадіївна Харлан; born 4 September 1990) is a Ukrainian right-handed sabre fencer.Kharlan is a two-time team European champion, six-time individual European champion, two-time team world champion, and four-time individual world champion.
A four-time Olympian, Kharlan is a 2016 team Olympic silver medalist, 2008 team Olympic champion, and two-time individual Olympic bronze medalist. Kharlan competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kharlan was named athlete of the year at the 2009 Ukrainian Heroes of Sports Year awards. She briefly pursued a political career.Sports career
Kharlan joined the Ukrainian national team at the age of 14. Her first medal in an international competition was a bronze in the 2005 Junior World Championships in Linz. she also took a silver medal in the team event. That same year, she reached the quarter-finals in the 2005 European Fencing Championships at Zalaegerszeg despite still being a cadet. In 2006, she placed second in the 2006 European Seniors Fencing Championship at İzmir after a close 14–15 defeat against Russia's Sofiya Velikaya.
At the age of 17 Kharlan took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. In the team event, Ukraine made their way to the final, where they met China. Kharlan contributed more than half her team's hits and proved decisive in the last bout helping Ukraine win the gold medal.In the 2008–09 season Kharlan won the gold medal at the European Championships in Plovdiv both in the individual and the team event, where Ukraine overcame Russia. At the World Championships in Antalya, Kharlan once again made her way to the final, only to be stopped by Mariel Zagunis. She was described as "one of the most precocious talents in this category. She is already steady and consistent, but above all she is the star of the future." In the team event, Ukraine defeated France in the final to come away with the gold medal. For this performance Kharlan and her team were named respectively athlete and team of the year at the Ukrainian Heroes of Sports Year ceremony held in April 2010.In the 2009–10 season Kharlan won her fourth Junior World Championship in a row, equalling the record established by Jacques Brodin in the 1960s. She is however the only fencer to have claimed these consecutive golds both in the individual and team events. She was defeated by Germany's Sibylle Klemm in the quarter-finals of the European Championships and failed to earn a medal. In the team event Ukraine won gold after beating Russia once again in the final.
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