Irina Nikulchina

Irina Nikulchina was born on 8 December 1974 in Razlog, Bulgaria. She is a retired professional biathlete. Her career originally began as a cross-country skier. Nikulchina trained from 1984 until 1998 with Georgi Djolev until she switched to biathlon. As soon as Nikulchina appeared at the World Cup tour, she registered the fastest ski timing alongside the unstoppable Uschi Disl from Germany. Until the very end of her career, Nikulchina remained one of the greatest skiers Bulgaria's ever produced. She won her first medal, a bronze in Pokljuka in 1999 for the 7.5 km sprint event. At the end of 1999-2000 season, Nikulchina finished 14th in the overall. That was her best overall result ever. At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games held in Salt Lake City, Irina Nikulchina won the bronze medal her favorite discipline - the 10 km pursuit. She shared the podium with the gold medalist Olga Medvedtseva and the silver medalist Kati Wilhelm. Another fantastic finish was the tremendous success in the relay which sadly finished on 4th place without a medal. Nikulchina won another bronze medal that year, in the 10 km sprint in Ruhpolding. Her most successful World Championships happened in 2004 in Oberhof. She placed 6th in the sprint, 9th in the pursuit, 19th in the mass start and 6th in the relay. The following year, 2005 Nikulchina took a break from the sport to give birth to her first child, a daughter named Yoanna. She married her coach Ivan Kerandzhiev in 2002. Irina Nikulchina made her return in biathlon in 2006. She won 2 medals from the European Championships - one silver with the relay in 2006 in Langdorf and one bronze in the pursuit in 2007 in her hometown Bansko, Bulgaria. In 2007, Nikulchina officially announced her retirement.