YEGOROVA, LYUBOV

born May 5, 1966, Tomsk, Russia, U.S.S.R. Russian cross-country skier who was one of the two most decorated performers at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. She won three gold medals and a silver in 1994, adding to the three gold and two silver medals she collected at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Her total of nine medals was surpassed only by her former teammate, Raisa Smetanina, who had 10 medals. Yegorova, like many children in Siberia, took up winter sports at a young age. She soon became proficient in cross-country skiing, and, at the age of 16, she was sent to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to train with the best Nordic skiers in the country. Joining the World Cup circuit in 1987, she did not make a notable impression until she finished third overall in 1991 and then repeated the feat the following season. She won the World Cup title in 1993 and finished second in 1994. Between 1991 and 1994, she won 10 World Cup events; she also won the 1991 30-km freestyle world championship, and she was part of two world champion relay teams (1991 and 1993). Blessed with great stamina and versatility, Yegorova excelled at both short and long distances at the Winter Olympics. At the 1992 Games she won gold medals in the combined pursuit, 15-km race, and 45-km relay, and she was a silver medalist in the 5-km and 30-km competitions. At the 1994 Games she battled in event after event with Manuela Di Centa of Italy, coming away with gold medals in the 5-km race, the combined pursuit, and the 45-km relay, and a silver medal in the 15-km race.