Sports, games, and recreation

Irina Belova (olympedia 77158)

Irina Belova (Ирина Николаевна Белова), Russian heptathlete born 1968 in Angarsk; 1992 Olympic heptathlon silver for the Unified Team, 1991 World bronze, and 4991-point indoor pentathlon world record (Berlin 1992), later a four-year doping ban.

Irina Belova (olympedia 91561)

Irina Olegovna Belova (Ирина Олеговна Белова), Russian rhythmic gymnast born 1980 in Zavolzhye; won group all-around gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics (39.500) and the 2001 European title in Geneva. Distinct from the 1968-born heptathlete of the same name.

Irina Bliznova

Irina Bliznova (Ирина Юрьевна Близнова), born 1986 in Krasnodar, Russian right back; captain of Russia's gold-medal 2016 Olympic handball team, 2008 silver, HC Lada Togliatti player and later president.

Irina Embrich

Irina Embrich, Estonian épée fencer born 1980 in Tallinn, Olympic team gold at Tokyo 2020, 2024 individual European champion at 43, world team champion 2017, left-handed, career spanning 2002 to 2026.

Irina Gerlits

Irina Gerlits (Ирина Яковлевна Герлиц), born 1966 in Pavlodar region, is a Kazakhstani former basketball player who won bronze at Seoul 1988 with the Soviet Union and gold at Barcelona 1992 with the Unified Team.

Irina Kalinina

Irina Kalinina (Ирина Владимировна Калинина), Soviet diver born 1959 in Penza, won 3 m springboard gold at Moscow 1980 and world titles in 1975 and 1978; ISHOF inductee, mother of Nadezhda Bazhina.

Irina Karavayeva

Irina Karavayeva (Ирина Караваева), Russian trampoline gymnast born 1975 in Krasnodar; first Olympic women's trampoline champion (Sydney 2000, 38.9), five individual world titles, and returned her 2001 world gold after a judging error.

Irina Khabarova

Irina Khabarova (Ирина Сергеевна Хабарова), Russian sprinter born 1966 in Yekaterinburg; Olympic 4x100 m relay silver at Athens 2004, European relay champion 2006, indoor 4x200 m world record 1:32.41.

Irina Krush

Irina Krush (born 1983, Odessa) is an American chess grandmaster, eight-time U.S. Women's Champion, first American woman GM (2013), and U.S. Olympiad team member since 1998.

Irina Makogonova

Irina Petrovna Makogonova (Ирина Петровна Макогонова, née Kolodyazhnaya), Soviet volleyball outside hitter born 1959 in Losevo, Voronezh Region; 1980 Olympic champion, 1979 European champion, five-time USSR champion with Uralochka, later a Voronezh coach and sports-school director.

Irina Meszynski

Irina Meszynski, East German (GDR) discus thrower born 1962, set the women's discus world record of 73.36 m in Praha on 17 August 1984; it lasted nine days and she never competed in the Olympics.

Irina Minkh

Irina Minkh (Ирина Эдвиновна Минх), born 1964, Russian basketball player; Dynamo Novosibirsk; Olympic bronze 1988 for USSR and gold 1992 for Unified Team; EuroBasket gold 1987, 1991.

Irina Nazarova

Irina Nazarova (Ирина Викторовна Назарова), Soviet 400 m runner born 1957, Dynamo Moskva; 1980 Olympic 4x400 relay gold in 3:20.2, fourth in the 400 final; distinct from Olga and Nataliya Nazarova.

Irina Pozdyakova

Irina Pozdyakova (Ирина Валентиновна Позднякова), Soviet breaststroke swimmer born 1953 in Moscow; set the 200 m breaststroke world record (2:43.0) at age 13 in 1966 and won European silver in Utrecht; wife of volleyball champion Vyacheslav Zaytsev.

Irina Press

Irina Press (Ирина Натановна Пресс), Soviet track and field athlete of the Press Sisters, won 80 m hurdles gold at Rome 1960 and the first women's Olympic pentathlon at Tokyo 1964, setting world records in both events.

Irina Privalova

Irina Privalova (Ирина Анатольевна Привалова), Russian sprinter and hurdler born 1968; 1992 Olympic 100 m bronze and 4x100 relay silver, 2000 Olympic 400 m hurdles gold in 53.02, and still holder of the indoor 60 m world record of 6.92.

Irina Rodnina (Ирина Константиновна Роднина)

Irina Rodnina (Ирина Константиновна Роднина), born 1949 in Moscow, Soviet pair skater; three consecutive Olympic golds (1972 Ulanov, 1976 and 1980 Zaytsev) and ten straight World titles 1969-78, then US coach and Russian Duma deputy.

Irina Smirnova Ilchenko

Irina Smirnova Ilchenko (Ирина Смирнова-Ильченко, born 1968) is a Russian volleyball player who won Olympic gold in 1988 with the Soviet Union and silver in 1992 with the Unified Team.

Irina Sumnikova

Irina Sumnikova (Ирина Владимировна Сумникова), born 1964 in Minsk, is a Russian former basketball player who competed at four Olympics: bronze 1988 (USSR), gold 1992 (Unified Team), 5th 1996 and 6th 2000 (Russia).

Iris Komar

Iris Komar, East German freestyle swimmer, won 1970 European 4x100 m relay gold in world-record 4:00.8; later Dr. paed. (Leipzig 1993), sport psychologist, and author of the Schwimmbibliothek coaching series.

Iris Kyle

Iris Kyle, also known as Iris Floyd Kyle, is an American professional bodybuilder born in 1974 who won a record ten Ms. Olympia titles and seven Ms. International titles.

Iris van Houten

Iris van Houten (born 2004) is a Dutch ice hockey player from Unis Flyers Heerenveen who won gold in girls' 3-on-3 ice hockey for mixed Team Yellow at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne.

Irish 2,000 Guineas

Irish 2,000 Guineas (Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas): Group 1 flat race over one mile at the Curragh, Ireland, for three-year-old colts and fillies, run each May after the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas; Aidan O'Brien leads trainers with 8 wins since 1990.

Irish Champion Stakes

Irish Champion Stakes, also run as Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes, a Group 1 flat race over 2000m each September at Leopardstown, Dublin; headline race of the Irish Champions Festival and an Arc trial, first run 1976.

Irish Derby

Irish Derby (Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby): Ireland's oldest classic, a Group 1 for three-year-olds over 2,400 m at the Curragh, founded 1866, run four weeks after Epsom; 2026 winner Benvenuto Cellini.

Irish Grand National

Irish Grand National: 3m5f handicap steeplechase run on Easter Monday at Fairyhouse, Co Meath, first run 1870 (winner Sir Robert Peel). Records: Tom Dreaper 10 wins, Pat Taaffe 6, Brown Lad 3; Arkle 1964; Freewheelin Dylan 150-1 in 2021.

Irish Open (golf)

Irish Open (Comórtas Oscailte na hÉireann), Ireland's national professional golf tournament on the DP World Tour, first played at Portmarnock in 1927, revived 1975; 2026 edition at Doonbeg won by Shane Lowry.

Irish road bowling

Irish road bowling (Ból an bhóthair, "long bullets"): players throw a 28oz iron bowl along country roads, fewest throws wins. Governed by Ból Chumann na hÉireann (1954); strongholds Cork and Armagh; UNESCO listing sought 2026.

Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is a rally series run across the island of Ireland. Founded in 1978, it runs seven rounds and is sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts.