Nataliya Khudyakova

Who is Nataliya Khudyakova?

Nataliya Khudyakova is a Ukrainian swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events.

Khudyakova qualified for three swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics by clearing FINA B-standard entry times of 2:02.88 from the EDF Swimming Open in Paris and 4:19.67 from the Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand. She also teamed up with Darya Stepanyuk, Kateryna Dikidzhi, and Hanna Dzerkal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Khudyakova recorded a split of 56.54 seconds, and the Ukrainian team went on to finish the preliminary heats in fourteenth overall with a final time of 3:44.72.

In the 400 m freestyle, Khudyakova challenged six other swimmers on the second heat, including two-time Olympian Golda Marcus of El Salvador. She raced to second and thirty-third overall by a quarter of a second behind Venezuela's Yanel Pinto in 4:18.34. In her third event, 200 m freestyle, Khudyakova posted her personal best of 2:02.27 to top the first heat by 0.61 of a second ahead of Thailand's Natthanan Junkrajang. Khudyakova failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-fifth overall in the preliminaries.