Sofia Pozdniakova

Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova (; formerly Sofia Lokhanova; born 17 June 1997) is a Russian right-handed sabre fencer, 2018 individual world champion, 2019 team world champion, 2021 individual Olympic champion, and 2021 team Olympic champion. She is a Russian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve. Both of her parents were fencers: her father, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, is a 4-time Olympic champion, 10-time world champion, and 13-time European champion in individual and team sabre, as well as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee since 2018. Her mother, Anastasia, is Master of Sports and secretary at the Fencing Federation of the Novosibirsk Oblast. She decided to follow in her parents' footsteps at the age of 10, and abandoned swimming and acrobatic gymnastics. She is a Russian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve. He emigrated to the United States in 2022 in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, strongly opposed to Russia's war.

Lokhanov invited his wife to join him in America. She later said: "As for feelings, love, there was a moment when we did not understand where to go. I got up in the morning and thought: 'That’s it, I’m going to the States.' I was figuring out how I would communicate with my parents, how to explain all this to my dad... He would simply erase me from his life. Then the next day such thoughts: 'So, I’m staying here, my parents, my family - this is important to me.'" By law, self-nominated candidates such as Putin are allowed to have proxies who campaign in their favor.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

European Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup