Belarus’ Natallia Helakh (l) and
Yuliya Bichyk celebrate their
World Champion title in the
women’s pair at the 2007 World
Rowing Championships.
Yuliya Bichyk (r) and
Natallia Helakh, bronze
medallists at the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens, Greece.
a member of the Sydney women’s eight, that
she performed the best. The pair went on to
win world silver and bronze during the two
following years, in the lead-up to their third-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The
girls’ best qualities, says coach Sinelshchykau,
is “their sense of purpose, diligence and their
quest for perfection.”
When asked why she enjoys the sport, Yuliya
replies: “I like rowing for its complexity and
its connection with nature.” As for Natallia,
she appreciates “the beauty of synchronous
rowing movements in big boats, and how
the boat glides on water.”
© 2004 Getty Images/Shaun Botterill
Despite their success, the pair was forced
to take a two-year break from each other
following the 2004 Olympic Games. Yuliya
had been experiencing strong back pains, and
in an attempt to prevent her condition from
worsening, she switched to sculling to build
up her back muscles more symmetrically.
The precaution seems to have paid off as the
pair won their first World Championship gold
medal last September.
When they are not at training camps,
Yuliya and Natallia train at the new regatta
venue of their hometown Brest, Belarus,
which will host the 2009 European Rowing
Championships and 2010 World Rowing
Under 23 Championships. Their goal for 2008
is obviously to “reach the maximum result”,
a goal which is both realistic considering their
past achievements, but also challenging,
as they consider all of their competitors as a
force to be reckoned with. ■ D.F.
