VYAKHIREVA Anna

Olympic Games

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA

World Championship

Rank	Event	Year	Location
3	Women	2019	Japan
5	Women	2017	Germany
5	Women	2015	Denmark

European Championship

Rank	Event	Year	Location
2	Women	2018	France
7	Women	2016	Sweden

Handball Messi (rostovhandball.ru, 22 Mar 2021)

Reading books, watching movies and TV series, clothes, music. (teamrussia.pro, 03 Nov 2020)

Athlete

Astrakhan State University, Russian Federation

English, Russian, Spanish

Rostov-Don [Russian Federation] since 2016/17

Per Johansson [club], SWE; Alexey Alekseev [national], RUS

Right back (rostovhandball.ru, 22 Mar 2021)

Left (rushandball.ru, 03 Mar 2021)

Her older sister Polina Kuznetsova [Vyakhireva] has represented the Russian Federation in handball and was also a member of the team that won gold in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, Polina won gold medals at the 2005 and 2007 world championships. Her father Viktor Vyakhirev is an Honoured Coach of the Russian Federation in the sport. (rostovhandball.ru, 22 Mar 2021; mk.ru, 21 Feb 2012)

In November 2020 she suffered a back injury during the European Handball Federation [EHF] Champions League match against CSM Bucuresti and was unable to compete at the 2020 European Championship in Denmark. She returned to club action in January 2021. (rostovhandball.ru, 06 Jan 2021; rushandball.ru, 24 Nov 2020)

Super League [RUS] (rostovhandball.ru, 22 Mar 2021)

She began plating handball at age six in Togliatti, Russian Federation. (rostovhandball.ru, 22 Mar 2021; teamrussia.pro, 03 Nov 2020)

"We lived near the arena in Togliatti. My father introduced me to sports, particularly handball as my older sister Polina was already playing." (eurohandball.com, 29 Nov 2014)

Winning gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Apr 2021; asu.edu.ru, 25 Jun 2018)

"I'm sure the main thing is a strong character. The athlete must have that at their core. It counts for 70% of success." (teamrussia.pro, 03 Nov 2020)

At the 2019 World Championship in Japan, she was named in the All-Star Team as Best Right Back. (ihf.info, 15 Dec 2019)

She was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] at the 2018 World Championship in France. She also claimed the MVP award in the final game against France. (ihf.info, 17 Dec 2018)

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she was named MVP of the women's handball competition and, in recognition of the gold medal she won at that Games, she received the Order of Friendship and the title of Honoured Master of Sport in the Russian Federation. (ihf.info, 17 Dec 2018; kremlin.ru, 25 Aug 2016; minsport.gov.ru, 22 Aug 2016)

She was named Best Right Wing at the 2014 U20 World Championship in Croatia, MVP at the 2013 U19 European Championship in Denmark and Best Right Back at the 2012 U20 World Championship in the Czech Republic. (ihf.info, 13 Jul 2014; eurohandball.com, 29 Nov 2014; ihf.info, 14 Jul 2012)