# Yuliya Nestsiarenka
**Yuliya Nestsiarenka** (Юлія Віктараўна Несцярэнка; also rendered Yuliya Nesterenko, born 1979 in Brest) is a Belarusian sprinter who won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, running 10.93 seconds in the final.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/results/olympic-games/2004/28th-olympic-games-6913163/women/100-metres/final/result) Her name appears in two transliterations: Nestsiarenka is the Belarusian form and Nesterenko the Russian form.[3](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=d0208ab9-40b4-4656-a0b4-c75cf7aad1c7.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-womens-biographies-updated)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979 in Brest, Belarus; club Dynamo Brest[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) |
| Olympic title | 100 m gold, Athens 2004, in 10.93 s (wind −0.1 m/s), 0.03 s ahead of Lauryn Williams[2](https://worldathletics.org/results/olympic-games/2004/28th-olympic-games-6913163/women/100-metres/final/result) |
| 100 m personal best | 10.92 s, Belarusian record, set in the Athens semifinal on 21 August 2004[4](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/belarus/yuliya-nestsiarenka-14269715) |
| Other personal bests | 60 m 7.10 (2004); 200 m 22.91 (2004); 4 × 100 m relay 42.56, Belarusian record (2005)[4](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/belarus/yuliya-nestsiarenka-14269715) |
| Championship bronzes | 60 m at the 2004 World Indoor Championships (Budapest); 4 × 100 m relay at the 2005 World Championships (Helsinki) and 2006 European Championships (Göteborg)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) |
| Olympic record | Broke 11 seconds in all four rounds at Athens 2004, but did not do so before or since[3](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=d0208ab9-40b4-4656-a0b4-c75cf7aad1c7.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-womens-biographies-updated) |
| Second Olympics | Beijing 2008: 100 m eliminated in the semifinals, 4 × 100 m relay out in round one[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) |
## The 2004 Olympic final
Nestsiarenka arrived in Athens as an unexpected contender. Her best previous finish at a major meet had been a bronze in the 60 meters at the 2004 World Indoor Championships, and her breakthrough came only that summer, starting with a national record of 11.02 at Réthimno, Greece, in late June.[5](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/budapest-bronze-boosts-nesterenko-to-olympic) • [6](https://www.olympedia.org/results/66411?id=66049) In the first round of the Olympic 100 meters she shattered her own national record with 10.94, two tenths faster than the next best qualifier.[7](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxiii-olympic-games-7153115/news/article/womens-100m-final-1) • [8](https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/aa0fa9f1-a7d9-4230-a456-d345c39b59d9.pdf)
In the final on 21 August 2004, the 25-year-old American Lauryn Williams led until about seventy meters, when Nestsiarenka drew level and edged ahead in the closing strides to win in 10.93 against Williams's 10.96 and [Veronica Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/veronica-campbell-brown)'s 10.97.[7](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxiii-olympic-games-7153115/news/article/womens-100m-final-1) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/results/olympic-games/2004/28th-olympic-games-6913163/women/100-metres/final/result) It was the third athletics Olympic gold medal for Belarus.[7](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxiii-olympic-games-7153115/news/article/womens-100m-final-1) Because athletes from the United States and the Caribbean had dominated the event, her win made her the first non-US athlete to take the Olympic women's 100 m title since 1980.[9](https://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics/belarus/yuliya-nesterenko-1781/2004-olympic-games-100m-champion_a09282/) Across the four rounds in Athens she ran 10.94, 10.99, 10.92, and 10.93, all under eleven seconds; a [World Athletics](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-athletics) biography notes she broke 11 seconds in all four rounds there but did not do so before or since.[10](https://olympteka.ru/olymp/athlets/profile/1951.html) • [3](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=d0208ab9-40b4-4656-a0b4-c75cf7aad1c7.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-womens-biographies-updated)
## Career record
Nestsiarenka competed at two Olympic Games. In Athens she also ran the first leg of the Belarusian 4 × 100 m relay, which finished fifth in the final in 42.94.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) • [10](https://olympteka.ru/olymp/athlets/profile/1951.html) At Beijing 2008 she reached the 100 m semifinals, running 11.26 for tenth place overall, and the Belarusian relay was eliminated in the first round.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) • [10](https://olympteka.ru/olymp/athlets/profile/1951.html)
Her championship medals outside the Olympics were all bronzes: the 60 m at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Budapest, the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, where the Belarusian record of 42.56 was set, and the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2006 European Championships in Göteborg.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894) • [4](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/belarus/yuliya-nestsiarenka-14269715) She remained active at the national level for years afterward, entering the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in the 60 meters with a season best of 7.27.[11](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=81ab5598-bcb4-4d78-8014-a1caf0ef4f51.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-entry-list-by-country-as-satu1) A serious foot injury in 2012 ended her chance of competing at the London Olympics, and she closed her athletic career in 2017, moving into coaching.[12](https://mediabrest.by/facts/olimpiyskaya-chempionka-yuliya-nesterenko-rodilas-i-zhivyot-v-breste) • [13](https://uzpedia.uz/pedia/yuliya_nesterenko)
## Life after competition
After retiring, Nestsiarenka spent five years working at the children's football academy of Brest Dynamo, where she introduced athletics training methods into the football program; she described learning to communicate with children as the central challenge of the role.[14](https://by.tribuna.com/athletics/1113087973-nesczyarenka-pra-praczu-u-dziczyachaj-futbolnaj-akademii-za/) She later took a position as deputy head of the sports team of the border committee, working with athlete-soldiers on selection, discipline, and morale.[15](https://by.tribuna.com/be/athletics/1113087996-nesczyarenka-pra-svayu-praczu-yana-zaklyuchaeczcza-va-uzaem/) Her husband is the 400 m runner Dmitriy Nesterenko.[3](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=d0208ab9-40b4-4656-a0b4-c75cf7aad1c7.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-womens-biographies-updated)
## References
1. [Olympedia – Yuliya Nestsiarenka](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/104894)
2. [100 Metres Result, 28th Olympic Games, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/results/olympic-games/2004/28th-olympic-games-6913163/women/100-metres/final/result)
3. [World Athletics biographical summaries, Istanbul 2012 (NESTERENKO Yuliya)](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=d0208ab9-40b4-4656-a0b4-c75cf7aad1c7.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-womens-biographies-updated)
4. [Yulia NESTSIARENKA profile, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/belarus/yuliya-nestsiarenka-14269715)
5. [Budapest bronze boosts Nesterenko to Olympic win, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/budapest-bronze-boosts-nesterenko-to-olympic)
6. [Olympedia – 100 metres, Women (Athens 2004 rounds)](https://www.olympedia.org/results/66411?id=66049)
7. [Women's 100m Final, World Athletics news, 21 August 2004](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxiii-olympic-games-7153115/news/article/womens-100m-final-1)
8. [London 2012 statistics book, World Athletics](https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/aa0fa9f1-a7d9-4230-a456-d345c39b59d9.pdf)
9. [Yuliya NESTERENKO – 2004 Olympic Games 100m Champion, Sporting-Heroes](https://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics/belarus/yuliya-nesterenko-1781/2004-olympic-games-100m-champion_a09282/)
10. [Юлия Нестеренко, Olympteka.ru](https://olympteka.ru/olymp/athlets/profile/1951.html)
11. [Istanbul 2012 entry list by country, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=81ab5598-bcb4-4d78-8014-a1caf0ef4f51.pdf&urlSlug=istanbul-2012-entry-list-by-country-as-satu1)
12. [Олимпийская чемпионка Юлия Нестеренко родилась и живёт в Бресте, Mediabrest](https://mediabrest.by/facts/olimpiyskaya-chempionka-yuliya-nesterenko-rodilas-i-zhivyot-v-breste)
13. [Yuliya Nesterenko, Uzpedia](https://uzpedia.uz/pedia/yuliya_nesterenko)
14. [Нестеренко о работе в детской футбольной академии, BY.Tribuna](https://by.tribuna.com/athletics/1113087973-nesczyarenka-pra-praczu-u-dziczyachaj-futbolnaj-akademii-za/)
15. [Несцярэнка пра сваю працу, BY.Tribuna](https://by.tribuna.com/be/athletics/1113087996-nesczyarenka-pra-svayu-praczu-yana-zaklyuchaeczcza-va-uzaem/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Sprinters and hurdlers › Short sprinters › Soviet, Russian and Eastern European sprinters*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license