Passing of 1994 aerials Olympic Champion Lina Cheryazova

FIS and the entire freestyle skiing family was saddened to learn about the loss of Lina Cheryazova on 23rd March. Cheryazova died at the age of 50 in Novosibirsk (RUS), where she had been living for the last two decades.

Born in 1968 in Tashkent (UZB), Cheryazova was the first-ever lady to win the aerials Olympic gold medal when the event debuted at the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games. She was the only female athlete to consistently perform a triple flip at that time. To date she is the only Olympic Winter Games gold medal winner in the history of Uzbekistan.

Cheryazova won the gold medal at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships 1993 in Altenmarkt (AUT). She also clinched the FIS Freestyle Skiing aerials World Cup crystal globes in 1993 and 1994, taking 13 World Cup top-spots between 1992 and 1994.  Following the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, Cheryazova retired and moved to Russia, where she took an active role in promoting skiing and physical activity.

FIS would like to express its condolences to Lina Cheryzova’s friends and family.