Nadzeya Astapchuk

Nadzeya Astapchuk is a Belarusian shot putter. She rose to top international level in the early 2000's, winning several medals, and finishing fourth at her first Summer Olympics in 2004. She became world champion in 2005.

Her personal best is 21.09 metres, achieved in July 2005 in Minsk. She improved upon this with a 21.70 m throw at the Belarusian championships in 2010, making her the third best indoor thrower on the all-time lists. She scored her first world indoor title at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, throwing a championship record of 20.85 m. She won further honours at the 2010 European Cup Winter Throwing meeting, easily winning gold ahead of compatriot Natallia Mikhnevich.

Nadzeya Ostapchuk was born in the small city of Rechitsa where her first love was basketball. But athletics took over after a track and field trainer visited her sports hall and suggested to several girls that they try competition. Among them was the 15-year-old Nadzeya. Remaining with the trainer, she ran and jumped with pleasure. First it was the 400m and broad jumps then, in the second year, long distances.

Valery Oksenchuk became her new trainer, and Ostapchuk begun to progress quickly. As soon as the second year, Ostapchuk went to Portugal to participate in Olympic days of youth and the next year, in 1998, she has won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships, in Annecy, France, and set a new personal record (18.23).

Time passes and she needed new specialist knowledge. As her trainer concentrated mainly on javelin throwers, he decided to transfer Ostapchuk to his colleague from Minsk, Alexander Efimov.

Efimov has structured training differently. Ostapchuk worked more on weights, her training volumes grew and, together, performances have grown too. There was much to change in her technique and movement. She has thought, for the first time, of what is necessary to make the shot fly further.

In 2001 Ostapchuk won the European Under-23 Championship with a new personal record (19.73) which is still a record for this competition. She won her first senior medal at the 2001 World Indoor Championship, in Lisbon, taking silver with an indoor personal best at 19.24. In 2003 she won silver medals at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham (20.31) and the outdoor World Championships in Paris (20.12).

Fourth in 2004 Athens Olympics, in 2005 she became world champion, in Helsinki, exceeding 21m (21.09). She also won the World Athletics Final in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
The last of those victories, achieved in Stuttgart, reversed the result from the 2007 World Championships, in Osaka, in which Valerie Vili, from New Zealand, took the gold medal while Ostapchuk had to settle for silver and the loss of her world title.

Achievements
Year Competition Position Notes
1998 World Junior Championships 1st 18.23 m = PB
2001 World Indoor Championships 2nd 19.24 m = PB
World Championships 7th 18.98 m
2002 European Championships 5th
2003 World Indoor Championships 2nd
World Championships 2nd 20.12 m = PB
World Athletics Final 3rd
2004 World Indoor Championships 7th
Olympic Games 4th
World Athletics Final 1st
2005 European Indoor Championships 1st
World Championships 1st
World Athletics Final 1st
2006 World Indoor Championships 6th
European Championships 2nd
2007 World Championships 2nd
World Athletics Final 1st
2008 World Indoor Championships 2nd
Olympic Games 3rd
2010 World Indoor Championships 1st 20.85 m = CR