Iryna Merleni
Ukrainian wrestler (born 1982)
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Iryna Oleksiyivna Merleni (Ukrainian: Ірина Олексіївна Мерлені), née Melnyk (Мельник), married name Mykulchyn (Микульчин) (born 8 February 1982) is a Ukrainian wrestler, who competed in the – 48 kg weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics and claimed the gold medal. She is first female olympic champion in women`s wrestling.[1] In the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal.[2] She is a three-time world champion, and has also won the European Championships once.
Мельник / Мерлені / Микульчин
Melnyk / Merleni / Mykulchyn
Merleni in 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | Ірина Олексіївна Мельник / Мерлені / Микульчин | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Iryna Oleksiyivna Melnyk / Merleni / Mykulchyn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 February 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Merleni was born in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. 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.[3]
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine she fled to Haparanda, Sweden, where she now works at the local Systembolaget. In her spare time she acts as a wrestling coach for the club Haparanda SKT.
Championships and accomplishments
- Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2023[4]
