Placing runner-up at the 1991 World Junior Championships, Svetlana Bazhanova made a successful transfer to the seniors. In 1993, she finished third overall in the European Championships, improving her performance to silver in 1994. Her greatest feat came in the Olympic Games that same year. With pre-race favorite Gunda Niemann out of the picture after a fall, Svetlana Bazhanova found herself winning the gold following a close duel with Claudia Pechstein. While a consistent top-10 performer for the rest of her career, Bazhanova would never again reach to first place. Her major result came in 1998, when she again ranked third in the European Championships. A three-time Russian allround champion (1993, 1998, 2000), Bazhanova married fellow skater Vadim Sayutin in 1994.

Personal Bests: 500 – 40.77 (1998); 1000 – 1:20.19 (1998); 1500 – 1:59.46 (2000); 3000 – 4:12.02 (2000); 5000 – 7:13.12 (2000).