Career
During her sporting career, Nikitina trained for Dynamo Kryvyi Rih"s swim team under her longtime coach and mentor Viktor Zheltyakov. Nikitina made her Olympic debut, as a 14-year-old teen, at the 1997 European Aquatics Championships in Seville, Spain, where she finished off the podium in the 200 m breaststroke with a fourth-place time of 2:29.76. The following year, at the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia, Nikitina placed eighteenth from the prelims in the 200 m breaststroke at 2:33.18.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Nikitina competed only in the women"s 200 m breaststroke.
She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including teenagers Nicolette Teo of Singapore (aged 14) and Siow Yi Ting (aged 16). Entering the race with a fastest entry time, Nikitina seized off a powerful lead at the final turn until she dropped her pace on the final stretch to a second seed in 2:34.20, almost a full second behind leader İlkay Dikmen of Turkey.
Nikitina failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed twenty-sixth overall in the prelims.
