Blazevica Joins Illinois Track and Field Coaching Staff
May 31, 2026 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
NEWS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou has announced the addition of Kristine Blazevica (pronounced blahz-ee-vih-CHA) to his staff on Sunday. Blazevica will hold the title of assistant coach, international recruiting and internal operations coordinator.
"We're excited to welcome Kristine on our staff in this role," said Kyprianou. "Kristine has a unique ability in our sport that can assist our coaches with a niche selection of responsibilities that align with our team's strategy and goals for an NCAA team title. She's an intelligent young woman with a tremendous organizational skill and experience at the highest level of the NCAA; She's a seven-time All-American athlete and a student holding degrees from two prestigious academic institutions in Illinois and Texas. Her ability to communicate in three different languages and the respect she commands in our athletic world will help to elevate our program and our student athletes experience."
Blazevica competed at Illinois and Texas where she was a decorated combined events athlete standing on the national podium seven times in her athletic career. She's a four-time All-American in the pentathlon indoors and a three-time All-American in the heptathlon outdoors.
"Illinois became family to me during my time as a student-athlete," said Blazevica "Having the opportunity to stay and join the staff means a lot. I'm excited for this next chapter and grateful to continue being part of such a special program."
In addition to her athletic accolades, she holds degrees from both Illinois and the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing from Texas and a Master of Science, Recreation, Sport and Tourism from Illinois. She also speaks three languages: English, Russian and Latvian, her native language.
