Irina Viktorovna Tchachina (also Chashchina or Tchashchina, russian: Ирина Викторовна Чащина; born 24 April 1982) is a retired Russian individual
rhythmic gymnast
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 coordi ...
. She is the
2004 Olympic
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
silver medalist in all-around, a two-time (2003, 2005)
World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
all-around bronze medalist, the
2004 European all-around bronze medalist and
2000 Grand Prix Final all-around silver medalist.
Personal life
Tchachina was born to a Russian family as the eldest of three children. She has a younger brother and sister.
In late 2011, Tchachina married Russian businessman Evgeny Arkhipov.
Skills in rhythmic gymnastics
Tchachina was a technical gymnast.
Competitive career
![Irina Cháshchina 2001 Ginebra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Irina_Ch%C3%A1shchina_2001_Ginebra.png)
Tchachina began training at the age of six in her hometown of
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
(also the hometown of
Galima Shugurova
Galima Akhmetkareevna Shugurova (russian: Галима Ахметкареевна Шугурова; Tatar: Галима Әхмәтгәрәй кызы Шөгурова; born 8 November 1953 in Omsk) is a retired rhythmic gymnast who competed for ...
,
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva Order For Merit to the Fatherland, OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to wi ...
,
Tatiana Druchinina
Tatiana Rudolfovna Druchinina (russian: Татьяна Рудольфовна Дручинина; born April 18, 1969) is a Russian former rhythmic gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. She is the 1987 World champion in ribbon and the 1986 ...
,
Ksenia Dudkina
Ksenia Pavlovna Dudkina (russian: Ксения Павловна Дудкина; born 25 February 1995) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast from Omsk, Russia. She is the 2012 Olympics Group All-around champion, the 2011 World Group All-around sil ...
,
Sofya Skomorokh
Sofya Pavlovna Skomorokh (russian: Софья Павловна Скоморох, born August 18, 1999 in Omsk, Russia) is a Russian Group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2015 Worlds Group all-around champion, the 2015 European Games Group all-aroun ...
). After she became impressed watching the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships on television, her grandfather, a devoted amateur sportsman, took her to a sports school. Her early days were filled with music lessons, swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Faced with a choice at age 11, she chose gymnastics. She was coached by
Vera Shtelbaums
Vera Shtelbaums (russian: Вера Штельбаумс; born April 24, 1937 in Omsk, Russia) is a Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach.
Coaching career
Following her graduation from the Omsk Institute of Physical Education in 1959, Shtelbaums w ...
and her daughter Elena Arais since the age of five. Her favourite gymnasts are
Olena Vitrychenko
Olena Ihorivna Vitrychenko ( uk, Олена Ігорівна Вітриченко, russian: Елена Игоревна Витриченко; born 25 November 1976), also known as Elena Vitrichenko, is an Individual Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnast. Sh ...
and
Yanina Batyrchina
Yanina "Yana" Farkhadovna Batyrshina (russian: Янина "Яна" Фархадовна Батыршина; born 7 October 1979) is a former individual rhythmic gymnast who competed for Russia. She is the 1996 Olympics All-around silver medali ...
.
Tchachina's first victory was at age eight at the Omskaya oblast championship. By age 12 she was a member of Russia's national team and routinely travelled to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to take part in training camps. As a junior, she placed first at the CIS Spatakiada, and won the Russian women's championships twice in a row.
In August 1999, Tchachina began training at the Olympic Preparatory School under the guidance of
Irina Viner
Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova (russian: Ирина Александровна Винер-Усманова; born July 30, 1948) is an Uzbek-born Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, president of the ...
, and around the same time she won the World Championships in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In 2001, she won the gold in the hoop and silver in the individual all-around, ball, clubs and rope at the
2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
XXIV World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Madrid, the capital of Spain, October 18–21, 2001
The Russian Team (Alina Kabaeva and Irina Tchachina) were stripped of their medals in individual and group results after tested positiv ...
in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, but Tchachina and her teammate
Alina Kabaeva
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...
tested positive for a banned
diuretic
A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...
and were stripped of their medals. Irina Viner, the Russian head coach, who also served as the Vice President of the
FIG
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee at the time, said her gymnasts had been taking a food supplement called "Hyper" containing mild diuretics, which, according to Viner, the gymnasts were taking for pre-menstrual syndrome. When the supply ran out shortly before the Goodwill Games, the team physiotherapist restocked at a local pharmacy. According to Viner, the supplement sold there was fake and contained furosemide. The commission requested the Goodwill Games organizing committee nullify Kabaeva and Tchachina's results.
![Överspagat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/%C3%96verspagat.jpg)
In 2003, Tchachina sustained an ankle injury, and dealt with it for two years. The same year she and Kabaeva made their return to competitive gymnastics following their ban. Tchachina won the all-around bronze medal at the
2003 World Championships, silver in clubs and bronze in hoop event finals.
In 2004, Tchachina won the all-around bronze medal at the
2004 European Championships behind Ukraine's
Anna Bessonova
Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova ( uk, Ганна Володимирівна Безсонова/Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova; born 29 July 1984) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian former individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most ...
. At the
2004 Athens Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, Tchachina won the silver medal in the all-around competition, scoring 107.325 points (Hoop 27.100, Ball 27.100, Clubs 26.825, Ribbon 26.300) – her teammate
Alina Kabaeva
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...
took the gold with a score of 108.400.
After the Olympic season, Tchachina experienced a recurring ankle injury. Although no longer in top form, she was still able to win the bronze medal in all-around at the
2005 World Championships and a pair of bronze medals in clubs and rope finals. She retired from rhythmic gymnastics in early 2006.
Later career
After her retirement, Tchachina was invited to the Russian television project "Dances on Ice", partnering with Olympic bronze medalist
ice dancer
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...
Ruslan Goncharov
Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov (russian: Руслан Николаевич Гончаров or uk, Руслан Миколайович Гончаров Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov; born 20 January 1973) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partn ...
. She also appeared on the project "Circus with stars" along with other athletes, including
Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (russian: Светлана Васильевна Хоркина; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the 2004 Summer Ol ...
. Tchachina then starred as the lead heroine in the Russian film "The Way" (2009 film) with Artem Mikhalkov. Tchachina wrote an autobiography titled ''Irina Tchachina: Being Yourself''. Commenting on her sport, she said: "Besides your body, you should train your mind too. Intelligence is crucial to rhythmic gymnastics."
On 4 December 2012, at the conference of the Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics in Novogorsk, Tchachina was elected vice-president of The
Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation
The Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (russian: Всероссийская федерация художественной гимнастики, lit=All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics) is the governing body of rhythmic gymnastics i ...
(RRGF) along with 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva Order For Merit to the Fatherland, OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to wi ...
. Tchachina was recommended by
Irina Viner
Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova (russian: Ирина Александровна Винер-Усманова; born July 30, 1948) is an Uzbek-born Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, president of the ...
for the position of President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (RRGF) but she declined.
In May 2013, Tchachina opened up her rhythmic gymnastics school named after her in
Barnaul
Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As ...
, Altai Krai. The Opening Ceremony was attended by other rhythmic gymnasts
Liubov Charkashyna
Liubov Viktorovna Charkashyna ( be, Любоў Віктараўна Чаркашына; russian: Любовь Викторовна Черкашина, born December 23, 1987) is a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 O ...
,
Natalia Godunko
Natalia Oleksandrivna Godunko ( uk, Наталія Олександрівна Годунко; russian: Наталья Александровна Годунко, born 5 December 1984) is a Ukrainian former rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2001 team al ...
and
Olga Kapranova
Olga Sergeyevna Kapranova (russian: Ольга Серге́евна Капра́нова; born 6 December 1987) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-around champion, the 2007 World All-around bronze medal ...
.
On 15 February 2015, a star-studded gala was held in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
for the 80th founding anniversary of
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 ...
. The venue was held in the historical
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Among those who performed at the gala were Russian former Olympic champions, Olympic medalists and World champions including: Tchachina,
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva Order For Merit to the Fatherland, OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to wi ...
,
Yulia Barsukova
Yulia Vladimirovna Barsukova (russian: Ю́лия Влади́мировна Барсуко́ва, born 31 December 1978) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2000 Olympic champion in the All-Around, the 2000 Grand Pri ...
,
Daria Dmitrieva
Darya Andreyevna Dmitriyeva ( rus, Дарья Андреевна Дмитриева, , ˈdarʲɪ̯ə ˈdmʲitrʲɪ(ɪ̯)ɪvə; born 22 June 1993) is a Russian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around silver medalist, the 2010 Worl ...
, and
Yana Batyrshina
Yanina "Yana" Farkhadovna Batyrshina (russian: Янина "Яна" Фархадовна Батыршина; born 7 October 1979) is a former individual rhythmic gymnast who competed for Russia. She is the 1996 Olympics All-around silver medalis ...
.
[.]
Routine music information
Detailed Olympic results
References
External links
*
Irina Tchachinaat r-gymnastics.com
*
*
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tchachina, Irina
1982 births
Living people
Russian rhythmic gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts of Russia
Olympic silver medalists for Russia
Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Doping cases in gymnastics
Russian sportspeople in doping cases
Sportspeople from Omsk
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
World Games gold medalists
Universiade medalists in gymnastics
Competitors at the 2001 World Games
Universiade gold medalists for Russia
Universiade silver medalists for Russia
Universiade bronze medalists for Russia
Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade
Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games