Irina Slyusar (; born 19 March 1963) is a Soviet Ukrainian former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

er. She represented the Soviet Union at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

in 1987 and 1991 – she was a relay bronze medallist on her debut, but was disqualified for doping on her second appearance. She was twice Soviet national champion in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. Slyusar was the

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

100 m champion in 1985 and won four further sprint medals at the competition in the following two years. She competed at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

for the Soviet Union in 1986 (running the heats for their bronze medal-winning team) and also for Ukraine at the 1994 edition (helping the new nation to fourth in the relay with her twin sister

Antonina Slyusar Antonina may refer to: Geography * Antonina, Paraná, a municipality in Brazil * Antonina, Bełchatów County, in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland * Antonina, Pajęczno County, in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland * Antonina, Poddębice County ...

Career

Born in

Dniprodzerzhynsk Kamianske (, ; ), previously known as Dniprodzerzhynsk from 1936 to 2016, is an industrial city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, and a port on the Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Kamianske Raion and Kamianske urban ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, she first came to prominence at the age of 21 when she won the

title at the

Soviet Athletics Championships The Soviet Athletics Championships () was an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Soviet Athletics Federation, which served as the Soviet national championship for the sport. The early history of event traces back to two e ...

in 1984 (shared in a dead heat with

Natalya Pomoshchnikova Natalya Voronova (, née Pomoshchnikova; born July 9, 1965) is a retired Russian sprint athlete who competed in the 100 and 200 metres for the Soviet Union and later Russia. A three time Olympian, she won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 × 100 ...

).Soviet Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Her first international title followed the next year, as she won the 100 m gold medal at the 1985 Universiade. She won a medal of each colour at that tournament, through a

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

bronze and a 4×100 metres relay silver medal.Universiade (Women)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Her 100 m winning time of 11.11 ranked her in the top ten athletes in the world for the distance that year.Irina Slyusar
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Slyusar won two national titles in 1986: first she recorded 7.22 seconds to win the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

at the

Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships The Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships () was an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Soviet Athletics Federation, which served as the Soviet national championship for the sport. Typically held over two to three days in Fe ...

, then she had her second career win in the 100 m at the national outdoor championships. She made two appearances at international competitions that year. First she ran 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 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(a major sports encounter between the Soviet Union and United States during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

period) she placed fifth in the individual 100 m then teamed up with Olga Zolotaryova, Maia Azarashvili and Elvira Barbashina to claim the 4 × 100 m relay silver medal behind the American women. A month later she represented the Soviet Union at the

1986 European Athletics Championships The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion, now known as MHPArena, in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany. Contemporaneous reports were given in the Glasgow Herald. Me ...

. She was a 100 m semi-finalist and was the relay alternate, helping her nation through the heats alongside Zolotaryova, Antonina Nastoburko and

Natalya Bochina Natalya Valeryevna Bochina () (born 4 January 1962) is a retired Soviet athlete, who competed mainly in the 200 metres. Bochina trained at Dynamo in Leningrad. Bochina was born in Leningrad and was relatively young, at 18 years of age, when sh ...

, before being switched for Marina Zhirova for the final, where the Soviet Union claimed the bronze medal. At the 1987 Universiade she returned to defend her 100 m title but was beaten into second place by American

Gwen Torrence Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic champion. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because of her ...

. The American women also got the better of the Soviet team in the Universiade relay that year. Slyusar made her senior global debut at the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 , ...

and was selected for both the individual and relay events. In the 100 m she was among the fastest qualifiers in the first round, but gradually weakened as the event progressed and was eighth in her semi-final. She had 100 m season's bests of 11.17 in 1990 then 11.26 seconds in 1991. The

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries partic ...

marked her second outing at the global level, and she again reached the semi-final stage of the 100 m. However, she was banned for three months from the sport after giving a positive doping test for

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

– this was an unusual substance to be banned for, as it had largely fallen out of use after the early 20th century. Slyusar became only the sixth athlete to be disqualified for doping at the World Championships in Athletics, and the first from the Soviet Union. Her doping ban fell at the end of the track and field season, so largely did not affect her schedule. Slyusar set a lifetime best of 11.05 seconds in the 100 m in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1992. With the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, she opted to represent her native Ukraine internationally. At the newly established Ukrainian Athletics Championships she became the first woman to claim a 100/200 m sprint double in 1993 (a feat matched by

Anzhela Kravchenko Anzhela Kravchenko (, born 25 January 1971) is a retired Ukrainian sprinter. She specialized in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Career In the 100 metres she won a silver medal at the 1997 Summer Universiade and finished seventh at the ...

shortly after). She had her last year of international competition in 1994, at the age of 31. At the

1994 Goodwill Games The 1994 Goodwill Games was the third edition of the multi-sport event, created by Ted Turner, which was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia between July 23 and August 7, 1994. The event – designed to improve Soviet Union – United States relatio ...

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 ...

she formed a Ukrainian relay quartet with Kravchenko,

Viktoriya Fomenko Viktoriya Fomenko (, born 2 October 1970) is a retired Ukrainian sprinter who specialized in the 200 metres. She competed at the 1994 European Championships, the 1995 World Indoor Championships, and the 1996 Olympic Games without reaching the ...

and her twin sister

. The team took the bronze medal behind the United States and Cuba (the Russian women were disqualified). In her only individual outing for Ukraine, she was a 100 m quarter-finalist at the

1994 European Athletics Championships The 16th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 August to 14 August 1994 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, Finland. Men's results Complete results were published. Track 1986 , 1990 , 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , Field 1986 , 1990 , 19 ...

. She teamed up with her twin sister for the relay and with Fomenko and

Zhanna Tarnopolskaya Zhanna Pintusevich-Block (; Tarnopolskaya; born 6 July 1972) is a Ukrainian former world champion sprinter who competed in the Olympic Games. Early life Zhanna Pintusevich-Block comes from a Jewish family. She was born in Nizhyn, Soviet Union ...

the Ukrainian women took fourth place.European Championships Miscellaneous 2014
European Athletics. Retrieved 15 October 2019. This marked the end of her international career.

Personal bests

– 11.05 seconds (1992) *

– 22.59 seconds (1985) *

indoor – 7.15 seconds (1992) *

indoor – 23.01 seconds (1986)

National titles

: 1984, 1986 *

: 1986 * Ukrainian Athletics Championships **100 metres: 1993 **200 metres: 1993

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slyusar, Irina Living people 1963 births Sportspeople from Kamianske Ukrainian female sprinters Soviet female sprinters World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Soviet sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Ukrainian twins Goodwill Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union FISU World University Games silver medalists for the Soviet Union FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Soviet Athletics Championships winners Ukrainian Athletics Championships winners

Career

Personal bests

National titles

International competitions

See also

References