Elena Allen

Elena Allen

Personal information
Birth name	Elena Little
Born	(1972-07-12) 12 July 1972 Moscow, Soviet Union
Spouse(s)	Malcolm Allen
Sport
Country	United Kingdom
Sport	Skeet shooting
Now coaching	Malcolm Allen
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2008: 14th 2012: 14th
Medal record Women's Shooting Representing  Great Britain ISSF World Championships 2014 Granada Team Skeet 2013 Lima Team Skeet 2014 Granada Skeet 2013 Lima Skeet Representing  England Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Skeet Pairs Representing  Wales Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow Skeet
Updated on 4 June 2016.

Elena Allen (née Little; born 12 July 1972) is a British sports shooter. She represented Wales in the Commonwealth Games in 2014, winning the silver medal, having previously won bronze for England at the 2006 Games. She competed for Team GB at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and has been chosen once more to compete at the 2016 Games.

Early life

Elena Little was born in Moscow, Russia—then in the Soviet Union—on 12 July 1972.^[1] Her mother was Tatiana Bogdanova, who competed for the Soviet Union in shooting at European and World Championships, but did not compete at the Olympics. Elena has two sisters, Natasha and Maria, who are also shooters. She competed in the Soviet junior championships at the age of 18, placing third overall. In 1992, she moved to the United Kingdom. She married fellow shooter Malcolm Allen.^[1] She attended the University of Bradford, where she earned a degree in modern languages.^[2]

Shooting career

Allen won the bronze medal at the 2002 ISSF World Shooting Championships in Finland. In 2005, she set a world record for shooting which stood for seven years. She also won the gold medal at the World Cup event in Belgrade, Serbia, and a silver medal at the European Shooting Championships.^[2] Allen shot for England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, winning the bronze medal in the Women's skeet shooting competition.^[3] Competing for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, she placed in 14th position overall.^[4] She won two bronze medals at World Cup events in Dorset, England, and in Italy in 2010.^[2]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the skeet event.^[5] Following three qualifying rounds, she finished in 14th place out of 17 competitors. She felt that the pressure of the home crowd put her off, being unfamiliar with enthusiastic crowds. She hoped that the experience would help her in the pursuit of medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[6] In the 2013 World Shotgun Championships in Lima, Peru she received a bronze medal in the individual skeet competition.^[7]

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Allen took silver in the women's skeet.^[8] She had switched her allegiance to the Welsh team after qualifying for them through residency.^[3] At the World Championships during the same year, Allen placed second in the individual skeet event at the World Championships, being defeated to the gold medal by Brandy Drozd. This placing gave Great Britain a further place in the competition for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The combined scores of Allen, Amber Hill and Sarah Gray won the team the overall gold medal in the competition.^[9]

Following that tournament, she was selected as part of the British team at the 2016 Olympics.^[3] In the pre-Olympics test event, she finished in 23rd position. He hoped that the experience of competing in the arena she would return to at the Games would be positive and help her to place higher in the Games.^[4]

Her training regime includes shooting deer and birds.^[10]

Personal life

She is married to Malcolm Allen, who also acts as her coach. She lives in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Wales.^[4]

References