Olympic Medallist: Student Profile

Law student and Olympic gold medallist Svetlana Podobedova explains how she combines studies and training, and what it felt like to win that medal.

Think your university course is challenging? Imagine combining the demands of a full-on degree in law with full-time training as a world-class weight lifter.

If you think that sounds impossible, then prepare to be amazed by Svetlana Podobedova, who won a gold medal for Kazakhstan in the weightlifting at this year’s Olympics, while taking a bit of time out from her law studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU).

This is just the latest addition to her list of medals; she’s already a two-time world champion, two-time European champion, three-time champion of Kazakhstan and champion of Asia – she certainly won’t have any difficulty filling in the ‘Other achievements’ section of her résumé.

From childhood hobby to gold medal match

Svetlana is originally from Russia, and it was there that she first started weightlifting, aged 11. She remembers being initially uncertain about starting an activity dominated by men and boys – but that soon wore off.

For the past five years, she’s been representing Kazakhstan in international weightlifting competitions, and also decided to return to university to train as a lawyer.

She chose KazNU, as she believes it is Kazakhstan’s best university, and says the staff there have been very supportive of her training – both legal and athletic.

So, how did it feel to win gold at the Olympics? “I felt something incomprehensible, like a global and kind of dumb happiness,” Svetlana says. “There weren’t any special thoughts; perhaps, indeed, this is what they call euphoria.”

In fact, Svetlana says winning Olympic gold is the high point of her life so far, on a par with meeting her fiancé, fellow weightlifter Vladimir Sedov.

When she arrived back in Kazakhstan, she was met at the airport by a group of KazNU students, as well as boxer Ermahan Ibraimov, who is also a former Olympic champion and KazNU graduate.

Understandably, Svetlana is now ready to take a rest and catch up with family and friends, but says she’ll be starting a new training program again soon. She also admits she’s got her sights set on another gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

So, next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your work load, just remind yourself of Svetlana, getting up at the crack of dawn to lift some weights before hitting the books.