Iryna Merleni

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. In the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal. She is a three-time world champion, and has also won the European Championships once. 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. 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.