Anna Ryzhykova

Anna Vasylivna Ryzhykova, nee Yaroshchuk (Ukrainian: Анна Василівна Рижикова (Ярощук); born 24 November 1989) is a Ukrainian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. At the European Athletics Championships, she won silver medals in 2012 and 2018, and bronze in 2022. Ryzhykova placed fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Anna Ryzhykova

Ryzhykova in 2022
Personal information
Born	(1989-11-24) November 24, 1989 (age 35) Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country	Ukraine
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	400 m hurdles 4×400 m relay
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	400 m hurdles: 52.96 NR (Stockholm 2021) 400 m: 51.21 (Lutsk 2021)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Ukraine Olympic Games 2012 London 4×400 m relay European Championships 2012 Helsinki 400 m hurdles 2014 Zürich 4x400 m relay 2018 Berlin 400 m hurdles 2022 Munich 400 m hurdles European Team Championships 2014 Braunschweig 400 m hurdles 2014 Braunschweig 4x400 m relay 2013 Gateshead 400 m hurdles Military World Games 2015 Mungyeong 400 m hurdles 2015 Mungyeong 4×400 m relay 2019 Wuhan 400 m hurdles 2019 Wuhan 4×400 m relay European U23 Championships 2011 Ostrava 400 m hurdles 2011 Ostrava 4×400 m relay World Junior Championships 2008 Bydgoszcz 4×400 m relay European Junior Championships 2007 Hengelo 4×100 m relay Universiade 2011 Shenzhen 400 m hurdles 2013 Kazan 400 m hurdles Representing  Europe IAAF Continental Cup 2018 Ostrava 400 m hurdles

Anna Ryzhykova at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

She won gold medals at the 2011 Summer Universiade and European U23 Championships. Ryzhykova is the Ukrainian record holder in her specialist event with a time of 52.96 seconds.

Career

Anna Yaroshchuk began her career in the sprinting events and represented Ukraine in the 200 metres at the Gymnasiade in 2006. In 2007, she ran a personal best of 24.58 seconds for the event and in a team with Hanna Titimets, Nataliya Pohrebnyak and Yelizaveta Bryzhina she set a national junior record in the 4×100 metres relay to take the silver medal at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships.^[1] She switched to the 400 m hurdles a year later and the move proved beneficial, as she won the national junior title and placed sixth in the event at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics.^[2] She also helped the Ukrainian 4×400 metres relay team to win the silver medal behind the United States in national junior record time.^[3]

She was eighth in the hurdles at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships and Ukraine came fourth in the relay. Yaroshchuk won her first senior national title in the hurdles that year and improved her personal best time to 57.23 seconds. Further personal bests came at the 2010 Ukrainian championships, as she was runner-up in the 200 m and 400 m hurdles with times of 23.49 seconds and 55.60 seconds respectively.^[1] She gained selection for the 2010 European Athletics Championships, but was eliminated in the semi-final of the competition.^[2]

Yaroshchuk ran a personal best of 54.77 seconds to win the hurdles gold at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships ahead of compatriot Hanna Titimets and the two later combined their efforts to claim the silver in the 4 x 400m relay behind Russia.^[4] She won her second 400 m hurdles gold of the season at the Summer Universiade.^[5]

She placed third at the 2012 European Championships, clocking 54.35 seconds. The 2012 London Olympics were unsuccessful for her, as she went out of the hurdles event in the second semi-final in 55.51, but won a bronze medal as part of women's 4 x 400m relay after the Russian team was disqualified for the second time in 2017.

In 2018, Ryzhykova took a silver medal in her specialist event at the European Championships with a time of 54.51 seconds, behind only Switzerland's Léa Sprunger who ran 54.33. Meghan Beesley of Great Britain in third was almost one second slower.

She placed seventh at the 2019 World Championships in a time of 54.45 seconds (equal with a mark of USA's Ashley Spencer in sixth).

She then improved her position at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by placing fifth in the final with a 53.48 seconds performance. Her compatriot Viktoriya Tkachuk came sixth in 53.79.^[6]

Competition record

Representing  Ukraine

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
2007	European Junior Championships	Hengelo, Netherlands	2nd	4 × 100 m relay	44.77
2008	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	6th	400 m hurdles	58.43
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:34.20
2009	European U23 Championships	Kaunas, Lithuania	8th	400 m hurdles	57.26
			4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.78
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	11th (h)	400 m hurdles	56.29
2011	European U23 Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	1st	400 m hurdles	54.77 PB
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.13
	Universiade	Shenzhen, China	1st	400 m hurdles	55.15
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	10th (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.09
			–	4 × 400 m relay	DQ
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	400 m hurdles	54.35 PB
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	12th (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.51
			3rd	4 x 400 m relay	3:23.57
2013	European Team Championships	Gateshead, Great Britain	2nd	400 m hurdles	55.27
	Universiade	Kazan, Russia	2nd	400 m hurdles	54.77
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	6th	400 m hurdles	55.01
2014	European Team Championships	Braunschweig, Germany	1st	400 m hurdles	55.00
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:27.66
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	–	400 m hurdles	DQ
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:24.32
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	9th (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.16
	Military World Games	Mungyeong, South Korea	–	100 m hurdles	DNF
			2nd	400 m hurdles	55.74
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.66
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	8th (sf)	400 m	52.74
			4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:31.32
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	2nd	400 m hurdles	54.51
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	9th (sf)	400 m	53.22
	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	–	4 × 400 m relay	DQ
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	7th	400 m hurdles	54.45
			6th	4 × 400 m relay	3:27.48
2021	European Indoor Championships	Toruń, Poland	5th (sf)	400 m	52.11
			5th	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.38
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	5th	400 m hurdles	53.48
			9th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:24.50
2022	World Championships	Eugene, United States	8th	400 m hurdles	54.93
			9th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:29.25
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	3rd	400 m hurdles	54.86
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	10th (sf)	400 m hurdles	54.42
2024	European Championships	Rome, Italy	12th (sf)	400 m hurdles	54.95
			12th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:27.69
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	23rd (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.65

References

1. Anna Ryzhykova. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-08-23.
2. Anna Yaroshchuk. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-082-3.
3. 2008 WJ Championships - Women's 4x400m relay. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-23.
4. Tsakonas claims 200 gold at European Athletics U23 Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-08-23.
5. Portugal’s Évora bounces back from injury at World University Games. European Athletics (2011-08-19). Retrieved on 2011-08-23.
6. "The XXXII Olympic Games, Tokyo | 400m hurdles Women – 04 Aug 2021 | Final". World Athletics. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

External links

• Anna Yaroshchuk at World Athletics