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Julija Tchepalova

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every four years which comprises of summer and winter games. Though the first ancient games were held in 776 B.C, the modern games started from 1896. The unity of the 5 continents is shown on the Olympic flag by five colorful intertwined rings of red, blue, green, yellow, and black, created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin to represent atleast one color of the participating country’s national flag.

Julija Tchepalova Russian was born on December 23, 1976 in Komsomolsk, Russia. She is a Russian cross-country skier. Tchepalova started to ski as soon as she began to walk. Coached by her father, Anatoly Tchepalov, Tchepalova made her debut in 1986 and continued to move upward through the old Soviet system Later Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Tchepalov, a coach of the Russian junior national team, reportedly sold off all of his assets to help finance his daughter's career.

Tchepalova has continually ranked in the Top 15 throughout her career the lone exception is the 2002-03 season, where she took maternity leave to have her daughter Olesja, finishing number 1 overall in 2000-01 number 3 in 2005-06 with number 1 in the distance category greater than 5 km. This includes success at the FIS, Federation International Ski Nordic World Ski Championships, with golds in the 4 by 5 km 2001 and 7.5 km plus 7.5 km double pursuit 2005, silvers in the 4 by 5 km and 10 km freestyle both 2005, and bronzes in the Individual sprint 2001 and Team sprint 2005. Additionally, Tchepalova has won the Women's 30 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival three times 1999, 2004, and 2006, joining fellow Russian cross-country skier Larissa Lazutina as the only three-time winners of the event.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Tchepalova won the Women's 30 km freestyle event in her Olympic debut, becoming the youngest winner of that event. Four years later at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Tchepalova won a complete set of medals with gold in the Individual sprint, silver in the 10 km classical, and bronze in the 15 km freestyle. At the most recent Winter Olympics in Turin, Tchepalova would win two more medals with gold in the 4 by 5 km and silver in the 30 km freestyle mass start.

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