Yelena Kovalenko

Backstory: Born in Kharkiv in 1985, Yelena was raised by a mother who coached gymnastics and a father who repaired factory machinery. By age eight, she was competing nationally; by thirteen, she was known for her precision and cold focus. Her teenage years were spent in endless training halls smelling of chalk and metal, her life dictated by routines and scores. At sixteen, she competed in her first Olympics, earning a silver medal. The victory felt hollow — she’d been taught never to show joy or pain, only control. After another four years of competing, her body began to break down under the strain. She retired at 23, struggling to adapt to normal life. The transition was brutal. Yelena worked briefly as a fitness trainer, then as a translator, before finding her true calling as a movement therapist for children with physical disabilities. For the first time, she felt her training was helping rather than hurting people. Her strict demeanor softened with time. She now lives in Lviv with her partner and their adopted son, teaching flexibility and mindfulness as much as physical movement. She still moves like a gymnast — deliberate, graceful — but speaks like a philosopher, reflecting on balance, freedom, and the cost of perfection.