Irina Zaretska (born 4 March 1996) is a Ukrainian (until 2014) and Azerbaijani (since 2015) karateka. She won the silver medal in the women's +61kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She is a three-time gold medalist in the women's 68kg event at the World Karate Championships (2018, 2021 and 2023). Zaretska is also a three-time gold medalist in this event at the Islamic Solidarity Games (2017, 2022 and 2025) and a two-time gold medalist at the European Games (2015 and 2023).
Career
Zaretska won a bronze medal in the women's kumite 68kg event at the 2014 World Karate Championships held in Bremen, Germany. At the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan, she won the gold medal in the women's kumite 68kg event.
At the 2018 European Karate Championships held in Novi Sad, Serbia, Zaretska won the silver medal in the women's kumite 68kg event. In the final, she lost against Elena Quirici of Switzerland. She also became world champion in the women's kumite 68kg event at the 2018 World Karate Championships held in Madrid, Spain.
In 2019, Zaretska won the silver medal in the women's kumite 68kg event at the European Games held in Minsk, Belarus. Four years earlier, she won the gold medal in this event at the 2015 European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Zaretska represented Azerbaijan in karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She won the silver medal in the women's +61kg event. In November 2021, she won the gold medal in the women's 68kg event at the World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
She competed in the women's kumite 68kg event at the 2022 European Karate Championships held in Gaziantep, Turkey. She also competed in the women's team kumite event. She lost her bronze medal match in the women's 68kg event at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States. She won the gold medal in the women's 68kg event at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, Turkey.
Zaretska won the silver medal in the women's 68kg event at the 2023 European Karate Championships held in Guadalajara, Spain. A few months later, she won the gold medal in her event at the 2023 European Games held in Poland. She also won the gold medal in the women's 68kg event at the 2023 World Karate Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.
Zaretska won the silver medal in the women's 68kg event at the 2025 World Games held in Chengdu, China.
On 23 December 2025, at the event dedicated to the 2025 sports year review organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan, Irina Zaretska was awarded the title of “Best Athlete In Non-Olympic Sports of 2025.”
In March 2026, at the Karate1 Premier League tournament in Italy, Zaretskaya defeated German athlete Hanna Riedel 2:0 and took third place.
Achievements
Year Competition Venue Rank Event 2014European ChampionshipsTampere, Finland 3rdTeam kumiteWorld ChampionshipsBremen, Germany 3rdKumite 68kg2015European GamesBaku, Azerbaijan 1stKumite 68kg2016European ChampionshipsMontpellier, France 1stTeam kumite2017Islamic Solidarity GamesBaku, Azerbaijan 1stKumite 68kg 2018European ChampionshipsNovi Sad, Serbia 2ndKumite 68kgWorld ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain 1stKumite 68kg2019European GamesMinsk, Belarus 2ndKumite 68kg 2021European ChampionshipsPoreč, Croatia 1stKumite 68kgOlympic GamesTokyo, Japan 2ndKumite +61kgWorld ChampionshipsDubai, United Arab Emirates 1stKumite 68kg2022Islamic Solidarity GamesKonya, Turkey 1stKumite 68kg 2023European ChampionshipsGuadalajara, Spain 2ndKumite 68kgEuropean GamesKraków and Małopolska, Poland 1stKumite 68kgWorld ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary 1stKumite 68kg 2025World GamesChengdu, China 2ndKumite 68kgIslamic Solidarity GamesRiyadh, Saudi Arabia 1stKumite 68kgWorld ChampionshipsCairo, Egypt 3rdKumite 68kg 2026 European Championships Frankfurt, Germany 3rdKumite 68kg 3rdTeam kumite
References
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