At the
2004 Summer Olympics Novikava ranked fifth in the 53 kg class. She initially won the bronze medal in the
women's 53 kg event at the
2008 Summer Olympics. After 2008, Novikava moved up to the -58 kg category. She won the 2010 European Championship with a personal best of 238 kg. In 2011, she won the
world championship with a total of 237 kg. At the
2012 Summer Olympics, she finished 7th with a total of 230 kg. In 2016, she was stripped of her 2008 Olympic medal after a retest of her doping sample tested positive for steroids. ==Notes and references==