Olga Gennadievna Kharlan is a swordswoman on sabers.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on September 4, 1990 in Mykolaiv.
She was educated at the Mykolaiv School of Physical Culture.
Career
2005-2010
In 2006 and 2007, Harlan took 2nd place at the European Championships in team competitions. In particular, she won the World Cup among juniors and became the world champion.
The following year, in 2008, she won the Junior World Championships, and also became the Olympic champion in Beijing. In the final of the team competition, the national team of Ukraine consisting of Kharlan, Olena Khomrova, Olga Zhovnir and Halyna Pundyk defeated China with a score of 45:44.
At the 2008 Olympics, the Ukrainian national team defeated Russia 45:34 and the United States 45:39 on the way to the final. At the end of the year, Harlan was recognized as the best athlete in Ukraine.
In 2009, she became the European champion in the individual championship, defeating Ekaterina Dyachenko in the final 15:10. In the same year, she won gold at the World Championships in team competitions and silver in individual competitions. She was also named the best athlete of Ukraine for the second time.
In 2010, Harlan won silver medals at the World Championships in individual and team championships.
2010-2015
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she won a bronze medal. In the same year, she became the European champion in individual competitions.
2015-2020
On February 20, 2016, she won the World Cup stage in Belgium, defeating Russian Yana Yegoryan in the final with a score of 15:10.
In total, since 2005, she has won more than 25 awards at the World and European Championships.
On July 22, 2017 in Leipzig, Harlan became the world champion in the individual championship for the third time. She also won 5 European champion titles in individual competitions.
In 2018, she won the overall standings of the World Cup of the 2017/18 season, and in December 2019 she won the World Cup stage in the United States of America (USA).
2020-tep. time
In 2020, Harlan became the prototype for the Barbie doll from the Role Models series and the first Ukrainian in this series.
In the 2020/21 season, the fencer topped the world ranking in women’s saber for the fifth time in her career.
In 2022, she won team bronze at the European Championships in Antalya.
A year later, on July 27, 2023, she defeated Russian Anna Smirnova at the World Championships. After the fight, Harlan refused to shake her hand, which is why the athlete was disqualified. Subsequently, this decision was reversed, and the obligatory handshake was replaced by a remote greeting.
On March 2, 2024, Harlan won bronze at the World Cup stage. On July 29, she won a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris, and on August 3, together with Olena Kravatskaya, Alina Komashchuk and Yulia Bakastova, she became the Olympic champion in team competitions.
In particular, Kharlan was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise IV and V degrees, the Order of Princess Olga I, II and III degrees, as well as the Order of Merit of I, II and III degrees.
Political Activities
In 2010, Kharlan became a deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council from the Party of Regions.
In the parliamentary elections of 2012, she was No. 194 on the list of the Party of Regions, but did not get into the Verkhovna Rada. In March 2014, she left the party’s faction in the Mykolaiv City Council.
In the same year, she ran for the local elections in Kyiv from the Green Party of Ukraine, but the political force did not overcome the 3% barrier.
Marital Status
From 2014 to 2018, Harlan was married to fencer Dmitry Boyko.
In September 2024, she announced her engagement to Italian fencer Luigi Samele. On June 14, 2026, the couple had a daughter, Arianna.
