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100 Olympic Tidbits: Hero of Ukraine

Yana Klochkova is a four-time Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine who dominated the women’s swimming individual medley events in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

As an 18-year-old in Sydney, Klochkova was a revelation, setting a world record in the 400m medley and an Olympic record in the 200m medley. She also won a bronze in the 800m freestyle. In Athens, Klochkova repeated as champion in the two medley events, and although she was unable to set any records this time, she became the first swimmer in Olympic history to win consecutive gold medals in both events.

For her achievements, Klochkova was given the Hero of Ukraine award, and also carried Ukraine’s flag during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Editor's Note: To celebrate the 100-day countdown to the London Games, we will be publishing 100 tidbits about the Olympics. Come back to Yahoo! PH Sports, as we publish a new tidbit every day.