Irina Sazonova

Irina Sazonova (born (1991-09-02)2 September 1991) is a Russian-born Icelandic female artistic gymnast, currently representing Iceland at international competitions. Prior to her move to Iceland, she represented Russia at the 2011 Universiade. She has represented Iceland at the 2015 Northern European Championships and World Championships, and became the first female Icelandic gymnast at the Olympics, competing in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She currently resides in Reykjavik and trains at Fimleikadeild Armanns.[1]

Irina Sazonova
Full name	Ирина Сазонова
Country represented	Iceland
Former countries represented	Russia
Born	(1991-09-02) 2 September 1991 Vologda, Russia
Residence	Reykjavík, Iceland
Height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2005–12 (RUS) 2014–Present (ISL)
Club	Fimleikadeild Armanns
Head coach(es)	Hildur Ketilsdottir, Vladimir Antonov
Former coach(es)	Svetlana Kolomenskaya, Yuri Kolomensky
Medal record Women's gymnastics Representing  Russia Summer Universiade 2011 Shenzhen Team

As a Russian athlete she competed at the 2009 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2010 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships and 2011 Summer Universiade. Representing Iceland she competed at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow.[2] She became the first Icelandic female to book an Olympic spot in the apparatus and all-around events at the Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro.[3]

Career

Russia

Sazonova made her international debut as a junior, competing at the 2005 WOGA Classic in Texas. She won bronze on vault, and placed fifth in the all-around and floor exercise, sixth on uneven bars, and thirteenth on balance beam. As a senior, she competed at the Russian Championships in 2010, winning team bronze, and placing fifth on floor and thirteenth in the all-around. She was sent to compete at the Cottbus World Cup the following year, but did not make the event finals. Later that year, she competed at the Universiade, winning team bronze, and placing sixth on uneven bars and seventh in the all-around.

Iceland

Sazonova made the move to Iceland in 2014, with her change in nationality and international representation becoming official later that year. Her first international competition representing Iceland was the Voronin Cup in her native Russia, but she did not make the event finals. The following year, she competed at the Northern European Championships, winning uneven bars gold, floor exercise bronze, and placing fourth in the all-around. She also competed at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, but did not make the event finals. At the Voronin Cup at the end of the year, she placed sixth in the all-around and uneven bars and eighth on balance beam.

In April 2016, she competed at the Olympic Test Event. She placed thirty-ninth in the all-around, qualifying as an individual for the Olympics. She later competed at the Nordic Championships, winning team and uneven bars gold, vault silver, and placing fifth in the all-around. In June, she competed at the European Championships in Switzerland, but did not make the event finals.

Rio Olympics

Sazonova competed in the fourth subdivision of qualifications, starting on vault. She placed fortieth in the all-around, fifty-eighth on uneven bars, sixtieth on floor exercise, and sixty-fourth on balance beam.

Following Rio, she placed sixth on uneven bars and seventh on vault at the Cottbus World Cup in November. In December, she competed at the Voronin Cup, winning silver on vault, bronze on bars and beam, and placing fourth in the all-around and sixth with her team and on floor.

Medal Count

Year	Event	TF	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2005	WOGA Classic		5	3rd	6	13	5
2010	Russian Championships	3rd	13				5
2011	Shenzhen Summer Universiade	3rd	7		6
2015	Northern European Championships		4		1st		3rd
	Voronin Cup		6		6	8
2016	Rio de Janeiro Olympic Test Event		39
	Nordic Championships	1st	5	2nd	1st
	Cottbus World Cup			7	6
	Voronin Cup	6	4	2nd	3rd	3rd	6

References

1. Crumlish, John. "Russian-Born Sazonova Realizes Olympic Dream In Iceland". intlgymnast.com. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
2. "2015 World Gymnastics Championships athletes - Irina Sazonova". longinestiming.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
3. "Rio 2016 Olympic qualifiers in Women's Artistic Gymnastics: See the updated list!". FIG. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.