Sofia Pozdniakova
Russian sabre fencer
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Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova (Russian: София Станиславовна Позднякова, IPA: [sɐˈfʲijə pəzʲnʲɪˈkovə]; formerly Sofia Lokhanova;[4] born 17 June 1997) is a Russian right-handed sabre fencer, 2018 individual world champion, 2019 team world champion, 2021 individual Olympic champion, and 2021 team Olympic champion.[5] She is a Russian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve.[3] In January 2024, she was included in the list of proxies of presidential candidate Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election.
RussianPozdniakova in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nicknames | Sonya, Pozdni [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Russian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 June 1997[2] Novosibirsk, Russia[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fencing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Fencing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Russia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon | Sabre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hand | right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National coach | Christian Bauer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club |
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| Head coach | Aleksandr Shirshov, Sergey Stepankin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIE ranking | current ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
Pozdniakova was born in Novosibirsk, where she was coached by Sergey Stepankin at the Fencing Center.[6] Both of her parents were fencers: her father, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, is a 4-time Olympic champion, 10-time world champion, and 13-time European champion in individual and team sabre, as well as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee since 2018.[7] Her mother, Anastasia, is Master of Sports and secretary at the Fencing Federation of the Novosibirsk Oblast.[8][9] She decided to follow in her parents' footsteps at the age of 10, and abandoned swimming and acrobatic gymnastics.[9]
Fencing career
Pozdniakova made her international debut in 2017.[7] is the 2018 individual women's sabre world champion, a 2019 team world champion, the 2021 individual Olympic champion, and a 2021 team Olympic champion.[5][10] She is a Russian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve.[3]
Personal life
Pozdiakova studied Sport and Tourism at the Smolensk State Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, and as of 2018 she planned to become a sports journalist in the future.[11][7] She moved to Moscow in 2015.[1] Since 2016, she has competed for CSKA Moscow.[9]
In September 2020, Pozdiakova married Saratov-based two-time world individual junior sabre champion and Olympic fencer Konstantin Lokhanov.[12] He emigrated to the United States in 2022 in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, strongly opposed to Russia's war.[13][14][15][16][17]
Lokhanov invited his wife to join him in America.[18][19] She later said: "As for feelings, love, there was a moment when we did not understand where to go. I got up in the morning and thought: 'That’s it, I’m going to the States.' I was figuring out how I would communicate with my parents, how to explain all this to my dad... He would simply erase me from his life. Then the next day such thoughts: 'So, I’m staying here, my parents, my family - this is important to me.'"[18] After many hours of telephone conversations in which she struggled with her decision, she declined and ultimately filed for divorce; they divorced in 2022.[18][20][21][15][16][17] Her father called his daughter's decision "the most important gift for Father’s Day."[18] She said she was grateful to Lokhanov for many things, but that the two of them had gone in "different directions."[21]
In January 2024, the Russian state-owned new agency TASS reported that she was included in the list of proxies of presidential candidate Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election.[22] By law, self-nominated candidates such as Putin are allowed to have proxies who campaign in their favor.[22] Proxies were expected to be people with high levels of public recognition who publicly supported Putin and Russia's war in Ukraine, and who were willing to spend time campaigning.[23]
