Irina Mikitenko
Irina Mikitenko winning the German 10,000 metres Championship in 2006
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 23, 1972 |
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 48 kg (106 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Germany
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| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Marathon |
Irina Mikitenko, née Volynskaya (Russian: Ирина Волынская (Микитенко); born 23 August 1972 in Bakanas, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union), is a Kazakhstan-born German long-distance runner who competes in marathons. She won the Berlin Marathon in 2008 and is a two-time winner of the London Marathon. She has competed at the Summer Olympics on four occasions.
Mikitenko was a track specialist in the early part of her career, running in distances from 3000 metres to 10,000 metres. She represented Kazakhstan at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 5000 metres but migrated to Germany soon after. Taking up German citizenship, she ran German records in the 3000 m (8:30.39 minutes) and 5000 m (14:42.03 minutes). She came close to a major 5000 m medal on several occasions: at the World Championships in Athletics she was fourth in 1999 and fifth in 2001, while at the 2000 Summer Olympics took fifth place. After a seventh-place finish in the event at the 2004 Summer Olympics she took a career break to have a child.
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