Irina Deryugina

Date of Birth: 11.01.1958

Irina Ivanovna Deryugina - Ukrainian gymnast and coach, honored master of sports of the USSR (1977) in artistic gymnastics. Head coach of the Ukrainian national team in artistic gymnastics, first vice-president of the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation, president of the Gymnastics Federation of Ukraine (artistic gymnastics).

Place of Birth. Education. Born on January 11, 1958, in Kyiv. Father - Ivan Deryugin, Olympic champion in the modern pentathlon. Mother - Albina Deryugina (1932-2023), honored coach of the USSR and Ukraine, director of the children's sports school of the Olympic reserve in artistic gymnastics, hero of Ukraine.

At the age of 10, Irina Deryugina was admitted to the Kyiv Choreographic School in 1968. From 1976 to 1980, she studied at the Kyiv State Institute of Physical Culture.

Sporting Career.Irina Deryugina was a member of the Soviet artistic gymnastics national team from 1972 until the end of her competitive career in 1982. In the team, Irina Deryugina became one of the most successful gymnasts of the USSR and the world in the history of artistic gymnastics.Multiple champion in artistic gymnastics at the championships of Ukraine, the USSR, Europe, and the world. These include two absolute world champions, five-time absolute Soviet champions, five-time winners of the USSR Cup, four-time winners of the Intervision Cup. The peak of Irina Deryugina's sporting career fell in the second half of the 1970s. She has what might be called a record: in the five years from 1975 to 1979, she missed the highest place only once at the most prestigious competitions - at the European Championships in 1978.

Coaching Career. After finishing her sports career, she began coaching activities and opened her own school together with her mother. Head coach of the Ukrainian national team in artistic gymnastics alongside Albina Deryugina. Their creative duo trained a number of talented gymnasts, including Alexandra Timoshenko (Olympic champion 1992), Oksana Skaldina (bronze medalist at the 1992 Olympics), Tatiana Popova, Tamara Yerofeyeva, Anna Bessonova (bronze medalist at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics), Natalia Hordunko (world and European champion), Anna Rizatdinova (bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics, world champion 2013), and many others. Among them are 2 Olympic champions, 1 Olympic medalist, 11 world champions, and 30 world championship medalists. In the last twenty years of their participation in the most important international competitions, the students of Irina Deryugina have won more than 120 gold, 30 silver, and 30 bronze medals.Since 1985 - International judge of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). From 1988 to 1992, member of the FIG Technical Committee. First vice-president of the Gymnastics Federation of Ukraine (president - Albina Deryugina).

Irina Deryugina is also the organizer and initiator of the annual international artistic gymnastics competition 'Deryugina Cup' in Kyiv, followed by the Grand Prix 'Deryugina-Neftogaz Cup'.

Scholar of the Ukrainian Academy of Sports.

Business. According to media reports, Irina Deryugina earns her living not only through her activities in the family sports school. Together with her ex-husband, she controls the joint-stock company 'Best Line', which trades in sanitary equipment, ceramic tiles, and garden architecture products. She is a co-founder of a company specializing in retail.

Disqualifications. In April 2008, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) temporarily suspended a member of the FIG Technical Committee and a coach of leading Ukrainian gymnasts from performing functions within the framework of the FIG based on the proposals of the Disciplinary Commission and several articles of the charter. It prohibited participation in official events (Olympic Games, World Championships, etc.) organized by FIG. In addition, it revoked her judging license. And all this lasted until the end of the Olympic cycle 2013-2016 (for a long eight years).

The points of the FIG DISCIPLINARY CODE that Deryugina was found guilty of included:

- Violation of the charter, the rules, the decisions, and the directives written by FIG,- Discrediting the image of gymnastics, FIG, or its members through her actions, words, or deeds,- Unsportsmanlike conduct,- Influencing the course and results of competitions by unlawful means,- Provocative behavior towards FIG members, gymnasts, or FIG representatives,- Discrediting the dignity of a person or a group of persons in any form, especially based on skin color, race, physical or mental abilities, gender, religious or ethnic origin.

The federation could impose penalties in two cases: if manipulations with judges or financial manipulations were proven, as alleged by Irina Deryugina. The coach and judge immediately described the FIG colleagues' verdict as the 'beginning of the struggle for gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing', probably considering certain intrigues of the competing Russian team.