Pozdniakova made her international debut in 2017 and has two gold medals and a silver to her name from both the World Championships and European Championships.

She won team gold in the 2018 and 2019 European Championships and the 2019 World Championships.

The most treasured of those medals would have been an individual gold from the World Championships in Wuxi - until an Olympic title came along.

Pozdniakova has fencing in her blood, as both of her parents were professional athletes in the sport.

Her father, Stanislav, is a four-time Olympic champion, 10-time world champion and 13-time European champion in the sabre competition.

He has also served as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee since 2018.

Her mother, Anastasia, is Master of Sports and secretary at the Fencing Federation of the Novosibirsk Oblast.

Born on June 17 1997 in Novosibirsk, as a child Pozdniakova was a keen swimmer and acrobatic gymnast but decided to follow in her parents' footsteps instead.

Her younger sister, Anna, has also represented her country in 3x3 basketball, winning gold at the 2018 Under-23 World Cup in Xian.

Pozdniakova studied Sport and Tourism at the Smolensk State Academy of Physical Education.

After her fencing career is over, she intends to become a sports journalist and is married to fellow fencer Konstantin Lokhanov.