Iryna Oleksiyivna Merleni ( uk, Ірина Олексіївна Мерлені),

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Melnyk (), married name Mykulchyn () (born 8 February 1982) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, who competed in the – 48 kg

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

at the

2004 Summer 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), ...

and claimed the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. In the same event at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, she won a bronze medal. She is a three-time world champion, and won the European championship once. Merleni was born in

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast ( uk, Хмельни́цька о́бласть, translit=Khmelnytska oblast; also referred to as Khmelnychchyna — uk, Хмельни́ччина) is an oblast (province) of western Ukraine covering portions of the histo ...

. 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.https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=165040

References

External links

* 1982 births People from Kamianets-Podilskyi Living people Ukrainian female sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for Ukraine Olympic bronze medalists for Ukraine Olympic wrestlers of Ukraine Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Wrestling Championships medalists Universiade medalists in wrestling Universiade gold medalists for Ukraine Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Khmelnytskyi Oblast 20th-century Ukrainian women 21st-century Ukrainian women {{Ukraine-wrestling-bio-stub