Irina Gabashvili (15 August 1960 – 23 March 2009) was a Georgian-born

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

gymnast. She began gymnastics at age 10 and was coached by Neli Saladze. She was the 1979 World individual all-around bronze medalist.

Personal life

Born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, Gabashvili began gymnastics at age 10 and was coached by Neli Saladze. She was the 1979 World individual all-around bronze medalist. She earned a degree in history from Georgia State University and later a degree in physical culture education. Her sister, Eka, was a decade younger and a Georgian national junior high jump champion in 1985. Eka's coach, Serge Maevski, became a good friend of the family, then a good friend of Irina's. Romance blossomed, and they married on 7 April 1984. Their son, Dmitri, was born in 1986 after she had retired from competition. In 1993, Irina was offered a position of coach for the Malaysian rhythmic team. She took the team from last place in 1994 to first place in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She spent seven years coaching the Malaysian gymnastics team, which won the team gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She moved to the U.S. in May 2000. Gabashvili coached in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from 2000 to 2008 and was a coach at Westside Gymnastics Academy in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

along with Wuling Stephenson and Bettina Megowan.

Marriage

She was married to Serge Maevski and had a son, Dmitri Maevski.

Death

Irina Gabashvili was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in 2004. She underwent

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

, but the cancer eventually returned. She died on 23 March 2009 in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, aged 48. A memorial service was held at Holy New Martyrs of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Orthodox Church in

Mulino, Oregon Mulino, Oregon is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, on Oregon Route 213 between the cities of Oregon City and Molalla. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,103. Demograph ...

. Profile
oregonlive.com; accessed 17 February 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabashvili, Irina 1960 births 2009 deaths Soviet rhythmic gymnasts Rhythmic gymnasts from Georgia (country) Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Sportspeople from Tbilisi Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships