Zelenskaya began skiing at the age of six in her native Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia.
[2] Zelenskaya made her debut on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup circuit in February 1989 at the age of 16 and competed for 14 seasons through 2002.
She also competed in four Winter Olympics (1992, 1994, 1998, 2002) and five FIS Alpine World Ski Championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001), representing the Soviet Union (1991), Unified Team (1992), and Russia (subsequently).
[1] Zelenskaya retired from top-level competition in April 2002, after the end of the World Cup season and the Russian national championships in which she won the Super G and placed second in the downhill.
[1] Zelenskaya married Julien Degeorges, the former physiotherapist of the French women's ski team, in 2001.