Dina's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Shooting
Event: 10m Air Pistol
Olympic History: Sydney 2000 for Kazakhstan; Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2020
Highlights: Commonwealth Games, Asian Games & World Championships medallist
Coach: Anatoly Babushkin
Year Born: 1976
Place Born: Almaty, Kazakhstan
About Dina
Dina Aspandiyarova was born in Kazakhstan and competed for her birth-country at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, finishing sixth in the women’s 10m Air Pistol. Soon after she moved to Russia and competed for her new country between 2001 to 2004.
Aspandiyarova moved to Australia in 2003 when her husband, Anatoly Babushkin was appointed as the National Shooting Coach. After missing selection to the Russian Olympic Team for the 2004 Games, Aspandiyarova returned to Australia and proceeded with her Australian citizenship which she gained in 2005.
She made her Olympic debut for Australia in 2008, competing in the women’s 10m Air Pistol and women’s 25m Pistol where she finished 36th and 33rd respectively. She competed again at the London 2012 Games where she finished in 14th position in the women’s 10m Air Pistol.
Aspandiyarova won a gold and silver medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and silver and bronze medals at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
After an extended break from shooting, Aspandiyarova returned to World Cup competition in 2018. In the same year, she represented Australia at the World Championships in the women’s 10m Air Pistol.
Aspandiyarova was selected for Tokyo 2020 after topping Australia’s 10m Air Pistol Olympic selection trials. She won four from four events and recorded a season-high 575 qualifying score to lock in her third Games appearance for Australia.
At Tokyo 2020, Aspandiyarova was placed 46th in the women’s 10m Air Pistol. She later paired with Dan Repacholi in the Mixed 10m Air Pistol where they finished 8th in Stage 2 after qualifying in 6th place after Stage One.
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01 of 04 / Gold Medalist, Dina Aspandiyarova of Australia poses after winning the Women's 10m Air Pistol Pairs Final at the Melbourne International Shooting Club during day three of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Gamesin Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images)
01 of 04 / Dina Aspandiyarova (Silver) of Australia pose with their medals in the Women's 10m Air Pistol at the Melbourne International Shooting Club during day eight of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games March 23, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia (Getty Images)
01 of 04 / Dina Aspandiyarova poses on the10 metre pistol range during a press conference announcing the Australian shooting team for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the Melbourne International Shooting Club on March 13, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia (Getty Images)
01 of 04 / Dina Aspandiyarova of Australia lines up her shot in the 10m Air Pistol Womens Pairs event at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range during day nine of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 12, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Graham Crouch/Getty Images)
