Background and career
Yelena Yevgenyevna Shalygina (born 15 December 1986 in Shymkent) is a Kazakh wrestler. She competed in the 63 kg weight class at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she lost to Alena Kartashova in the last 16, but because Kartashova reached the final, Shalygina was able to compete in the repechage where she beat Elina Vaseva and then Lise Golliot-Legrand to win her bronze medal.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics she lost to Yuliya Ostapchuk in the first round.
She won the gold medal in the 65 kg event at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, Turkey. She competed in the 65 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.
In September 2023, she competed in the women's 68 kg event at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. In October 2023, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's 68 kg event at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.
