Irina Bliznova

Irina Bliznova
Bliznova with Vladimir Putin in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Irina Yuryevna Bliznova
Born	(1986-10-06) 6 October 1986 (age 30) Krasnodar, Russia
Nationality	Russian
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Lada Togliatti
Number	6
National team
2005–2016	Russia	124 (369)
Medal record Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team 2008 Beijing Team World Championship 2005 Russia 2007 France European Championship 2006 Sweden

Irina Yuryevna Bliznova (Russian: Ирина Юрьевна Близнова, born 6 October 1986) is a retired Russian handball player. She won the gold medal at the 2005 and 2007 world championships and 2016 Rio Olympics, placing second in 2008 and eighth in 2012. She announced her retirement shortly after the 2016 Olympics.

Bliznova is married to Alexander and has a daughter Arina (born 2010) and a son Arkhip (born 2014).