Irina Embrich, née Zamkovaja (born 12 July 1980) is an Estonian left-handed

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

fencer. Embrich is a two-time team European champion and 2017 team world champion. A two-time Olympian, Embrich is a 2021 team Olympic champion. Embrich competed in the

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and the

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Biography

Embrich's first sport was

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

, but she resented the hard discipline of the Soviet era. She later took to

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

and then fencing under coach Samuil Kaminski. She ranked 20th then 12th at the cadet World championships in 1996 and 1998, but snatched the bronze medal at the junior event in 1999. After high school, Embrich studied chemistry at the

Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; et, Tallinna Tehnikaülikool) is the only technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administratio ...

. In 2004 her coach left Estonia for Norway. Épée champion

Nikolai Novosjolov Nikolai Novosjolov (born 9 June 1980) is an Estonian right-handed épée Fencing, fencer, two-time individual world champion, and four-time Olympic Games, Olympian. Novosjolov competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the ...

, who is the same age as her, accepted to train her under an equal footing more than a student-master relationship. The same year she married a fellow student and gave birth in 2005 to a daughter, Maria. She went on in her fencing career and won the silver medal at the épée

2006 World Fencing Championships The 2006 World Fencing Championships were held at the Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy. The event took place from 29 September to 7 October 2006. Same Thing of the 2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter ...

after losing the final 15–11 versus

Tímea Nagy Tímea Nagy (born 22 August 1970) is a Hungarian right-handed épée fencer, three-time Olympian, 2006 individual world champion, and two-time Olympic champion. Awards * Hungarian Fencer of the Year (3): 2000, 2004, 2006 * National Defenc ...

, and then the bronze medal in 2007. She was named Estonian Sportswoman of the Year 2007 for these performances. In the 2012–13 season, she took a bronze medal at the World Cup events of Leipzig and Saint-Maur and won the team gold medal with Estonia in the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. She ranked 10th in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

after she lost her T16 bout against Emese Szász, who eventually took a bronze medal. In the 2013–14 season, she placed second at the Budapest Grand Prix after being defeated 7–15 in the final by world no.1

Ana Maria Brânză Ana Maria Popescu, formerly known as Ana Maria Brânză (, born 26 November 1984), is a Romanian left-handed épée fencer. Popescu is a four-time team European champion, 2013 individual European champion, and two-time team world champion. A f ...

. This result helped her reach the 4th place in world rankings. At the 2014 European Championships at Strasbourg, she was stopped in the table of 32 by World No. 1 Emese Szász. In the team event, Estonia were defeated by Russia in the semi-final, then by Italy and finished fourth. At the 2014 World Championships in Kazan, Embrich reached the quarter-finals, defeating World No. 2 Ana Brânză along the way. She was then defeated by Italy's

Rossella Fiamingo Rossella Fiamingo (born 14 July 1991) is an Italian left-handed épée fencer and two-time individual world champion. A three-time Olympian, Fiamingo is a 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist and 2016 individual Olympic silver medalist. She is e ...

, who eventually won the gold medal.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

European Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Embrich, Irina 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Tallinn Estonian female épée fencers Fencers at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in fencing European Games silver medalists for Estonia Olympic fencers of Estonia Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in fencing Universiade bronze medalists for Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century Estonian women 21st-century Estonian women