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Ekaterina ZubkovaUkrainian swimmer
Date of Birth: 14.07.1988
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
Biography of Yekaterina Zubkova
Yekaterina Zubkova is a Ukrainian swimmer and an international class master of sports of Ukraine. She is known for her expertise in backstroke swimming. Zubkova represents the sports club "MSMK Kharkiv" and the sports society "Ukraine". She comes from a family of renowned swimmers, Natalia Shibaeva and Mikhail Zubkov. She is coached by Irina Lobanovskaya.
Early Career
Zubkova's first tournament was the 1996 Championship of the Kharkiv Region when she was only 7 years old. In 2001, at the Summer Championship of Ukraine in Mykolaiv, she achieved the standard of a master of sports. After qualifying for the Winter Championship of the country in Kharkiv, she earned the right to compete at the International Youth Games in Moscow in 2002, where she won two silver medals and one bronze. This was followed by a silver medal at the Junior European Championship in 2003. In 2004, Zubkova had successful performances at two continental championships, winning one gold and two silver medals. However, her performance at the Olympic Games in Athens was less successful, as she did not make it to the finals.
Professional Achievements
Zubkova has also achieved several victories in World Cup stages. At the 2007 World Championship in Melbourne, on March 26, she qualified for the semifinals in the 100m backstroke, but ended up last in the next round. Her father, Mikhail Zubkov, who is also her coach, was heavily disappointed with her results and confronted her in the judges' room, which resulted in a physical altercation. The incident was captured by a surveillance camera installed in the facility, and the recording was circulated by many international television agencies. The Australian police took up the case and confiscated Mikhail Zubkov's passport and accreditation for the championship, prohibiting him from approaching his daughter closer than 200 meters. He also faced a possible legal action and an 8-year ban from entering Australia. Yekaterina Zubkova, however, has no claims against her father, and Mikhail does not want to continue this story.
Continued Career
On March 29, a hearing was scheduled in court regarding the incident, but the justice system did not punish the coach. The final verdict was issued on March 31 by the Disciplinary Committee of FINA, which banned him from participating in all competitions under its auspices for the next 6 years. However, on December 24 of that year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, where the coach filed a lawsuit, reduced the ban to 8 months. On March 28, Zubkova continued her performances but did not qualify for the semifinals in the 50m backstroke, finishing 18th in the qualifying rounds. On March 30, she did not qualify for the 200m backstroke, ranking only 31st in the preliminary swims. On March 31, she missed the final of the medley relay, finishing 12th. In August 2007, she participated in the Summer Universiade in Bangkok as a student of the Faculty of International Economic Relations and Tourism at Kharkiv National University.
Achievements
- 2003: Silver medal at the Junior European Championship in Glasgow - 50m backstroke
- 2004: Silver medal at the European Championship in Madrid - 4x100m medley relay (preliminary swims)
- 2004: Silver medal at the European Championship in Vienna (short course) - 50m backstroke
- 2004: Gold medal at the European Championship in Vienna (short course) - 100m backstroke
- 2004: Best newcomer at the European Championship in Vienna (short course)
- Set 8 records of Ukraine in short course distances: 50m and 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, and a relay
- 2007: Silver medalist at the Summer Universiade - 100m backstroke.
