Irina Bulakhova (born 15 March 1978) is a retired Ukrainian

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

. In 1994, Bulakhova competed at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, held in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, winning a bronze medal in team competition with Natalia Kalinina and

Lilia Podkopayeva Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva (; born 15 August 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor exercise champion. Often thought of as a complete athlete, Pod ...

. She finished 4th in all-around event, and 6th in floor exercise. Later she represented

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

at the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, finishing 3rd in team competition, 8th in uneven bars event and 6th in floor exercise. In that year, Irina competed at 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 ...

, finishing 16th in all-around competition. In 1995, Irina with

Rustam Sharipov Rustam Khalimdzhanovych Sharipov (born 2 June 1971) is a Ukrainian gymnast and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, representing Ukraine,Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. She also competed at the

, finishing 5th in team competition.

References

1978 births Living people Ukrainian female artistic gymnasts Sportspeople from Kryvyi Rih 20th-century Ukrainian sportswomen {{Ukraine-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub