Yuliya Chernoy

Started: She took up rifle shooting in December 2016 and began competing the following year. (israelhayom.co.il, 11 Jun 2022; davar1.co.il, 31 Aug 2021) Reason: She was encouraged to take up shooting Para sport after meeting the Israeli shooting team at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I met [coach] Guy Starik at the Olympic village, and [Israeli Para shooter] Doron Shaziri and I sat together on a balcony. When I returned to Israel, I had a short conversation with Doron, and he said, 'Why don't you try it? You're already at the Warrior House [club], let's go'." (davar1.co.il, 31 Aug 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (ynet.co.il, 31 Jan 2024) Awards: She was named Female Athlete of the Year for both 2022 and 2023 by the Israel Paralympic Committee. (davar1.co.il, 01 Feb 2024; ynet.co.il, 31 Jan 2024; Israel Paralympic Committee Facebook page, 13 Feb 2023) Additional Info: MULTISPORT ATHLETE She began competing in sport when she took up Para triathlon at age 30, and went on to compete at the 2013 World Para Triathlon Championships in London, England. She later took up Para rowing at The Warrior House Tel Aviv in Israel and made her Paralympic Games debut in the sport in 2016. She was introduced to triathlon after she met a duathlon athlete on a bus. "I asked if there was anything more complicated than duathlon, and he said, 'Yes, triathlon'. I took some swimming lessons, bought a bike and rode it in the parking lot because I was scared to ride on the road. And running, I did not know what to do, so I ran with crutches. It was more brisk walking with a little jumping on crutches. Suddenly you trust your body. I grew up in the Soviet Union in a cruel environment for people with impairments, and in my life I never relied on my body. Suddenly you realise that you can swim in the open sea and nothing will happen to you. You trust your body. You can ride 80 kilometres on a bicycle, you can run, and you are addicted to that feeling." (israelhayom.co.il, 11 Jun 2022; davar1.co.il, 31 Aug 2021) MOVE TO ISRAEL She was born in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union and later lived in Belarus. At age 18 she moved from Belarus to Israel without her family. "I had never done any sports in my life. When I moved to Israel, I was busy surviving. I worked, volunteered, and studied. But I did not dream too much, it was all really about reaching the end of the month and moving forward in my new country." (forbes.co.il, 19 Sep 2023; israelhayom.co.il, 11 Jun 2022; davar1.co.il, 31 Aug 2021) OCCUPATION She works as a training and development specialist at an Israeli electricity company. "I am a working person and have a family, and manage to combine everything, together with shooting. The company help me with my schedule - any other workplace would have fired me a long time ago." (forbes.co.il, 19 Sep 2023; Facebook profile, 12 Mar 2023; israelhayom.co.il, 11 Jun 2022) FURTHER EDUCATION From 2016 to 2018 she studied for a master's degree at Netanya Academic College in Israel. (Facebook profile, 20 Feb 2021)