Jelena Wladimirowna Khrustalyova was born on September 28, 1980, in Krasnoyarsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. She is a former biathlete who competed internationally for Russia, Belarus, and later Kazakhstan. Khrustalyova made her international debut at the 2000 Junior European Championships in Zakopane, winning gold in the individual event and with the Russian relay team. At the Junior World Championships in Hochfilzen the same year, she won silver in the pursuit and with the relay, and placed fourth in the individual and sprint events. She also won silver at the 2000 Summer Biathlon Junior World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk.
In the 2000/01 season, Khrustalyova switched to represent Belarus and debuted in the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, placing 36th in the sprint. Before the 2002 Winter Olympics, she achieved top World Cup results with seventh place in the individual and relay and sixth in the pursuit at Antholz. At the Salt Lake City Olympics, she finished 33rd in the sprint, 30th in the pursuit, and seventh with the relay team. She returned to Russian citizenship for the 2003/04 season, mainly competing at continental level, winning gold in the individual and relay at the 2003 European Championships and relay gold in 2005. Since the 2006/07 season, she has competed for Kazakhstan. At the 2007 Summer Biathlon World Championships in Otepää, she won silver medals in the sprint and mass start. Her best international result came with sixth place in the individual at the 2009 World Championships. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, she placed fifth in the sprint and won a silver medal in the individual event. Prior to the 2010 Olympics, she posed nude for the Kazakh edition of Men’s Health magazine, which was criticized by the Moscow newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda as a provocative act to attract attention.
Russia
