Irina Deriugina

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanivna and the family name is Deriugina.

Irina Ivanivna Deriugina (Ukrainian: Іри́на Іва́нівна Дерю́ґіна; born 11 January 1958) is a Ukrainian former individual rhythmic gymnast athlete who competed for the Soviet Union, and is now a Ukrainian coach in rhythmic gymnastics. She is the only Soviet rhythmic gymnast to win two all-around world titles, which she won at the 1977 and 1979. Her mother, Albina, was her coach, and her success influenced the further development of rhythmic gymnastics in Kyiv.

Irina Deriugina
Deriugina in 1981
Personal information
Full name	Irina Ivanivna Deriugina
Born	(1958-01-11) 11 January 1958 (age 67) Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Former countries represented	Soviet Union
Club	Spartak Kiev
Gym	Deriugins School
Head coach(es)	Albina Deriugina
Retired	yes
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union World Championships 1977 Basel All-Around 1977 Basel Ribbon 1979 London All-Around 1979 London Clubs 1977 Basel Hoop 1977 Basel Ball 1979 London Ribbon 1979 London Ball European Championships 1978 Madrid Ball 1978 Madrid All-around 1978 Madrid Rope 1978 Madrid Ribbon USSR Championships 1975 Rostov-on-Don All-around 1975 Rostov-on-Don Hoop 1975 Rostov-on-Don Ribbon 1975 Rostov-on-Don Freehands 1976 Tbilisi All-around 1976 Tbilisi Clubs 1976 Tbilisi Ribbon 1977 Severodonetsk All-around 1977 Severodonetsk Hoop 1977 Severodonetsk Ball 1977 Severodonetsk Ribbon 1977 Severodonetsk Clubs 1978 Odessa All-around 1978 Odessa Freehands 1978 Odessa Ball 1979 Tomsk All-around 1975 Rostov-on-Don Ball 1975 Rostov-on-Don Clubs 1976 Tbilisi Freehands 1976 Tbilisi Hoop 1976 Tbilisi Ball 1977 Severodonetsk Freehands 1978 Odessa Rope 1974 Minsk All-around 1981 Kiev All-around

Career

Deriugina was born to Ukrainian athletes from Eastern Ukraine: Albina Deriugina, a gymnast, and Ivan Deriuhin, a pentathlete. At age ten, in 1968, Deriugina entered the National Ballet School. From 1976 to 1980, she studied at the Kyiv National Institute of Physical Culture. Deriugina was a member of the Soviet rhythmic gymnastics squad from 1972 until her retirement from the sport in 1982, after which she was appointed the Ukrainian national coach.

From 1988 to 1992, Deriugina was in charge of the rhythmic gymnastics technical organizing committee, serving as competition director. At her Kyiv school, which she ran with her mother until Albina Deriugina's death, she trains forty high-level gymnasts. Two former gymnasts have alleged that conditions at the school were abusive.^[1][2] Since 1992, they have also organized the annual rhythmic tournament, the Deriugina Cup.

Deriugina was a judge at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona. She was involved in a judging scandal at the 2000 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain. Video evidence showed that she and five other judges—Natalia Stepanova (Belarus), Gabriele Stummer (Austria), Galina Marjina (Latvia), Ursula Sohlenkamp (Germany), and Natalia Lashtsinkaya (Russia)—discriminated against Ukrainian gymnast Olena Vitrychenko in their scoring compared to other gymnasts. As a result, the six judges were suspended for one year and excluded from the judging course in Rome. For the 2000 Sydney Olympics, their countries had to choose another judge who met the requirements of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. This was the first time in the sport's history that such inappropriate behavior was documented and penalized on such a scale.

Personal life

Deriugina was married to Oleh Blokhin, a Ukrainian football striker and coach who was European Footballer of the Year in 1975. They have a daughter, Iryna Blokhina, a pop artist, socialite, and choreographer for the Deriugins' School's students.