Iryna Merleni
Merleni in 2014
Personal information
Native nameІрина Олексіївна
Мельник / Мерлені / Микульчин
Full nameIryna Oleksiyivna
Melnyk / Merleni / Mykulchyn
Born (1982-02-08) 8 February 1982
Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Medal record
Women's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Ukraine
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 48 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 48 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2000 Sofia46 kg
Gold medal – first place2001 Sofia46 kg
Gold medal – first place2003 New York48 kg
Silver medal – second place2005 Budapest48 kg
Silver medal – second place2007 Baku48 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2004 Haparanda48 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Varna51 kg
Silver medal – second place2001 Budapest46 kg
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place2005 İzmir51 kg

Iryna Oleksiyivna Merleni (Ukrainian: Ірина Олексіївна Мерлені), née Melnyk (Мельник), married name Mykulchyn (Микульчин) (born 8 February 1982) is a Ukrainian wrestler, who competed in the – 48 kg weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics and claimed the gold medal. In the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal.[1] She is a three-time world champion, and won the European championship once.

Merleni was born in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. In February 2006, she married Andriy Mykulchyn, with whom she has two sons – Artur and Adam. She was inducted into the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2023.[2]

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine she fled to Haparanda, Sweden, where she now works at the local Systembolaget. In her spare time she acts as a wrestling coach for the club Haparanda SKT.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Iryna Merleni-Mykulchyn". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  2. ↑ "FIRST INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED FOR WOMEN'S WRESTLING HALL OF FAME | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Lee, Joseph (November 14, 2022). "First Ever Inductees For Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame Includes Madusa, Luna Vachon, More". 411Mania. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2023.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.