Zulfiya Zabirova

Zulfiya Zabirova

Zabirova prior to her start in the time trial at the 1998 Women's Challenge
Personal information
Full name	Zulfiya Zabirova
Born	(1973-12-19) 19 December 1973 Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	143 lb (65 kg)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
1999	Acca Due O
2000–2001	Acca Due O - Lorena Camichie
2002	USC Chirio
2003	Team Prato Marathon Bike
2004	Team Let's Go Finland
2005–2008	Bigla Cycling Team
Medal record Representing Russia Women's road cycling Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Individual Time Trial UCI Road World Championships 2002 Zolder/Hasselt Time trial 1997 San Sebastián Time trial 1998 Valkenburg Time trial 2003 Hamilton Time trial 2004 Verona Time trial

Zulfiya Khasanovna Zabirova (Russian: Зульфия Хасановна Забирова; born 19 December 1973) is a Russian professional cycle racer who won the Gold medal in the time trial event in the 1996 Olympics and later, in 2002, won the World Time Trial Championship.

Biography

Zulfiya was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 19 December 1973. She is an ethnic Uzbek. In 1993 two years after the breakup of the Soviet Union she emigrated to Russia and lived in Rostov-on-Don. As the main reason for her emigration she cited that the Islamist leadership of the newly independent Uzbekistan is hostile to the women sports and the rights of women in general. In 1996 she became famous after winning the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.

In 2005, she obtained the citizenship of Kazakhstan and announced her intention to compete as a member of the Kazakhstan team. As the reason for her decision she cited the better conditions for training and her desire to be closer to her native Uzbekistan (Kazakhstan has a reputation to be much more secular and democratic than Uzbekistan) as well as her family circumstances. According to the Russian Newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Zabirova's main place of residence and training is Lugano, Switzerland (as of 2005).

Major results

1994

3rd UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships (Individual pursuit)

1995

2nd National Road Championships, Time Trial

1996

1st Olympic Games Time Trial

National Road Championships

1st Time Trial

2nd Road Race

1st GP Kanton Zurich

Tour Cycliste Feminin

Two Stage wins

3rd Tour du Finistere

1997

1st National Road Championships, Road Race

1st Overall Etoile Vosgienne

One stage win

1st Overall Trois Jours de Vendee

One stage win

1st Chrono des Herbiers

1st Tour du Finistere

Tour Cycliste Feminin

Two Stage wins

2nd UCI Road World Championships Time Trial

2nd Chrono Champenois

2nd GP des Nations

2nd Thrift Drug Classic

3rd Overall Women's Challenge

Two stage wins

3rd Overall Gracia Orlova

1998

1st GP Suisse Féminin

1st GP des Nations

1st Josef Voegeli Memorial

Tour Cycliste Feminin

One stage win

2nd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

4th Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen

1999

1st Overall Tour de Suisse Feminin

1st One stage win

3rd Overall Women's Challenge

One stage win

5th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile

1st Stages 4, 7, & 9

2000

1st National Road Championships, Time Trial

1st Overall Tour de Suisse Feminin

One stage win

5th Overall Grande Boucle

1st Stage 9 & 13

7th Olympic Games Road Race

2002

1st UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

1st Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen

One stage win

1st GP Carnevale d'Europa

1st Chrono Champenois-Trophee Europeen

Grande Boucle

Two stage wins

1st Stage 4 Giro della Toscana

7th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile

9th GP Suisse

2003

1st Overall Vuelta Castilla y Leon

1st Stages 2 & 3

1st Primavera Rosa

Grande Boucle

Two stage wins

3rd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

4th Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin

2004

3rd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

1st Tour of Flanders

1st Primavera Rosa

1st Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen

1st Stage 5

8th Olympic Games, Time Trial

10th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile

1st Stage 5

2005

National Road Championships

1st Time Trial

1st Road Race

1st Prologue Giro di San Marino

1st Stage 4 Giro d'Italia Femminile

6th UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

2006

National Road Championships

1st Time Trial

1st Road Race

1st Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin

1st Stage 1

1st Tour de Berne

2nd Chrono des Nations

2007

National Road Championships

1st Time Trial

1st Road Race

2nd Tour of Flanders

2008

National Road Championships

1st Time Trial

1st Road Race

1st Stages 3 & 3 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin

10th Olympic Games, Road race

External links

• (in Italian) Official website
• Cycling Website profile
• Article in Komsomolskaya Pravda about Zabirova
• (in Russian) "Olympic Champion Zulfiya Zabirova"
• (in Russian) "Russian olympicist began to emigrate," article in the newspaper Utro.ru about Zabirova's plans to move to Kazakhstan