Iryna Vasiliyevna Yatchenko (, ; born 31 October 1965) is a Belarusian former discus thrower best known for winning two Olympic bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics, 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. Her personal best is 69.14 metres, achieved in July 2004 in Minsk.
Career Yatchenko was born in Gomel. Her career at the highest level of competition lasted almost twenty years, starting with the 1990 European Athletics Championships. She threw the discus at five editions of the Olympic Games, competing at all Games from the 1992 Barcelona Games to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yatchenko's World Championship career was similarly extensive, as she competed on eight separate occasions.
Yatchenko's final major competition was the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, 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.2003 world champion Irina Yatchenko announces her retirement. European Athletics (4 June 2010). Retrieved on 7 June 2010.
Yatchenko is married to Igor Astapkovich, also a Belarusian Olympic medalist in hammer throw.Irina Yatchenko . sports-reference.com
Doping case When the IOC in 2012 re-analysed stored samples from the 2004 Summer Olympics, Yatchenko's sample was found positive for the anabolic steroid Methandienone. 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 Representing 1990Goodwill GamesSeattle, United States2ndGoodwill Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 7 June 2010.67.04 mEuropean Championships Split, Yugoslavia5th1990 European Championships, women's results65.16 m1991World Championships Tokyo, Japan7th64.92 mRepresenting 1992Olympic GamesBarcelona, Spain7th63.74 mIAAF Grand Prix FinalTurin, Italy3rdSecond on season's pointsIAAF Grand Prix Final. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 7 June 2010.Representing 1995World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden9th60.48 m1996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States12th60.46 m1997World Championships Athens, Greece5th62.58 m1998European Championships Budapest, Hungary8th1998 European Championships, women's results61.20 m1999World Championships Seville, Spain9th62.99 m2000Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 3rd 65.20 m2001World Championships Edmonton, Canada9th59.45 m2003World Championships Paris, France 1st67.32 mWorld Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco8th2004Olympic GamesAthens, Greece DSQ (3rd) 66.17 mWorld Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco DSQ (3rd)2006European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden10th59.65 m2007World Championships Paris, France10th62.63 m2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China11th59.27 m2009World ChampionshipsBerlin, GermanyNMNo mark
References