Anfisa Kasyanova

Anfisa is from Belarus and currently lives in Ancient Olympia, in Greece with her husband and young daughter. It is only appropriate that she should live here, when she has dedicated her life to Olympic sport and values. Her particular sport is Modern Pentathlon.

Anfisa Kasyanova grew up in a small town in Belarus, and moved to the capital as a teenager to continue her education at a dedicated sports school. She had an 11-year long professional athletic career in Modern Pentathlon, but the lack of opportunities for her to continue at the time directed her onto new paths. She continued to dedicate herself to the sport in other ways. Anfisa was awarded a scholarship and completed a masters in Olympic Studies; helped deliver the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics; worked for the national federations of Modern Pentathlon in Belarus and Georgia now leads development projects for the International Federation.

Anfisa returns to Belarus regularly to volunteer for projects – around women in sport, and athletes’ transition careers, for example. She aspires to establish further initiatives in the near future by harnessing her international networks and experience in sports management.

In her country, there are currently very few women leaders in sport, and in the past she faced significant challenges herself to be taken seriously as a professional and leader within the sector, but she has a well-deserved space at both the international and national level. Anfisa Kasyanova is no doubt set to continue to challenge status quo head on. We can see she will lead a generation of change in the sector, and contribute tirelessly for the continued development of Modern Pentathlon.

Through SWinG, Anfisa is particularly looking forward to learning more about communication and presentation as part of building her pathway and influence as a changemaker

For SWinG, Anfisa is being mentored by Speranta Munteanui from KPMG, Romania.

Favorite quote

“Begin at the beginning…and go on till you come to the end – then stop.”

in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll