Iryna Yatchanka
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Iryna Vasiliyevna Yatchenko (, ; born 31 October 1965) is a
Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...
former
discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...
er best known for winning two
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
s at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
and
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
, although she was eventually stripped of the latter medal due to a doping offence. She also became world champion at the
2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...
. Her personal best is 69.14 metres, achieved in July 2004 in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
.


Career

Yatchenko was born in
Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...
. Her career at the highest level of competition lasted almost twenty years, starting with the
1990 European Athletics Championships The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. The host stadium was Stadion Poljud. It was the last participation of East Germany (which was already scheduled to be merged ...
. She threw the discus at five editions of the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, competing at all Games from the 1992 Barcelona Games to the
2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
. Yatchenko's
World Championship 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 ...
career was similarly extensive, as she competed on eight separate occasions. Yatchenko's final major competition was the
2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...
, but she failed to register a valid throw in the qualifying rounds. She retired from international competition in June 2010 and the Belarus National Olympic Committee held a ceremony to honour her career. At the age of 44, she was one of the last athletes to retire who had previously represented the Soviet Union in international
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...
. Yatchenko is married to
Igor Astapkovich Ihar Astapkovich (also Igor Vyacheslavovich Astapkovich, ; born 4 January 1963, in Navapolatsk) is a hammer thrower who won two Olympic medals, first representing the Soviet Union and later his home country of Belarus. He won silver medals at th ...
, also a Belarusian Olympic medalist in
hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...
.Irina Yatchenko
. sports-reference.com


Doping case

When the IOC in 2012 re-analysed stored samples from the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
, Yatchenko's sample was found positive for the anabolic steroid
Methandienone Metandienone, also known as methandienone or methandrostenolone and sold under the brand name Dianabol (D-Bol) among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is mostly no longer prescribed. It is also used non-medically ...
. IOC subsequently disqualified her results from the Athens Olympics and she was made to return the bronze medal and diploma.IOC
IOC disqualifies four medallists from Athens 2004 following further analysis of stored samples
olympic.org, 5 December 2012
The IAAF also banned her for two years from sports and disqualified all her results from 21 August 2004 – 20 August 2006.


Achievements


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yatchenko, Iryna 1965 births Living people Athletes from Gomel Belarusian female discus throwers Doping cases in athletics Belarusian sportspeople in doping cases Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Belarus Olympic bronze medalists for Belarus World Athletics Championships medalists Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Belarusian masters athletes Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games