Vladislav Bykanov

Vladislav Bykanov (Hebrew: ולדיסלב ביקנוב‎, Ukrainian: Владислав Биканов) (born 19 November 1989) is an Israeli Olympic short track speed skater.[1][2] He won the gold medal in the 3,000m at the 2015 and 2018 European Championships. He competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Short Track Speed Skating in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Vladislav Bykanov
Bykanov competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Personal information
Nickname(s)Vlad
Born19 November 1989 (1989-11-19) (age 31)
Lviv,
 Ukrainian SSR,
 Soviet Union
Alma materOpen University of Israel
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
CountryIsrael
SportShort Track Speed Skating
Coached byJeroen Otter
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 500 meter 40.823 (15/3/14)
  • 1,000 meter 1:23.251 (12/11/16)
  • 1,500 meter 2:10.963 (5/11/16)
  • 3,000 meter 4:54.151 (25/1/15)
Medal record
Short track speed skating
Representing  Israel
European Championships
2015 Dordrecht 3000 m SF
2018 Dresden 3000 m SF
2019 Dordrecht 3000 m SF
2018 Dresden Overall
2018 Dresden 1500 m
ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup
Dordrecht 2016 Men's 1500m

Early and personal life

Bykanov was born in Lviv, Ukraine, and is Jewish.[3] He moved to Israel in 1994, and has lived there ever since.[4] Bykanov lives in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, and in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.[5][6] He studied Economics and Management at Open University of Israel.[7] His nickname is Vlad.[7]

Skating career

His coach is Jeroen Otter.[7] Bykanov started skating when he was eight years old, in Northern Israel.[8][5] In 2007 Bykanov broke an ankle and missed three months, in 2011 he again broke an ankle and missed four months, in 2015 he had hip surgery and was out for eight months, and in 2016 he had another hip operation.[7]

Bykanov qualified to compete[9] for Israel at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in all three individual races.[10] By doing so he became the first male athlete to qualify from Israel in short track speed skating. He was Israel's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.[7] He came in 19th in the 500m, 24th in the 1,000m, and 25th in the 1,500m.[7][11]

He had his best showing in the 500m in a World Championship in the 2014 World Championship in Montreal, coming in 13th.[7] Bykanov had his other best World Championship showings in the 2016 World Championship in Seoul, coming in 13th in the 1,000m, 15th in the 1,500m, and 15th overall.[7]

Bykanov became the first Israeli short track skater to finish in the top three at the European Championships when he won the gold medal in the 3,000m super final in 2015 in Dordrecht, Netherlands, with a time of 5 minutes 2.882 seconds, ahead of Thibaut Fauconnet of France.[7][12] At the 2017 European Championships he won a bronze medal in the 1,500m.[13]

At the January 2018 European Championships in Dresden, Germany, Bykanov won the gold medal in the 3,000m, the silver medal in the Overall competition, and the bronze medal in the 1,500m.[7][13][12][14] He also came in 5th in the 500m, and 21st in the 1,000m.[7][13][12]

Bykanov competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Short Track Speed Skating in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Personal records
DistanceNationCityDateRecord Time
500 meters  CanadaMontreal15 March 201440.823
1000 meters  United StatesSalt Lake City12 November 20161:23.251
1500 meters  CanadaCalgary5 November 20162:10.963
3000 meters  NetherlandsDordrecht25 January 20154:54.151

References
  1. Sochi 2014 profile
  2. Biographical data for: BYKANOV, Vladislav
  3. "2018 Winter Olympics," Jewish Sports Review, March/April 2018, Vol. 11, No. 6, Issue 126, page 2.
  4. Short Track Speed Skating – Biographies – Vladislav Bykanov
  5. Jenn Virskus. "Fresh off a gold in Europe, Israeli speed skater reveals his 'biggest dream'"
  6. Oren Aharoni. "Israel wins European Short Track Speed Skating championship; Ukrainian born Israeli Vladislav Bykanov makes historical win for Israel, after finishing first in 3,000 meter race: 'I cannot express in words how it feels to be the European championship,'" Ynet News.
  7. Short Track Speed Skating | Athlete Profile: Vladislav BYKANOV - Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
  8. Featured interview: Vladislav Bykanov (ISR) - ISU
  9. Sinai, Allon (26 November 2013). "Israel announces its 5-athlete delegation to Sochi Olympics". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  10. "XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 Sochi – Entries Short Track Speed Skating". International Skating Union. 22 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  11. "Vladislav Bykanov Bio, Stats, and Results," Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
  12. "Israeli Vladislav Bykanov became European Short Track Champion," kanal24.az.
  13. Allon Sinai. "Israeli skater Bykanov wins European bronze," The Jerusalem Post.
  14. "Bykanov hits top form; Vladislav Bykanov continued his preparations for the Winter Olympics in South Korea by winning two medals at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Germany."
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