Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete

Irina Nikolaevna Belova is a retired heptathlete from Russia. In her early career she represented USSR, with a fourth place at the 1990 European Championships and a bronze medal at the 1991 World Championships. Her career highlight came in 1992 as she won an Olympic silver medal. In February the same year she set the world record in indoor pentathlon with 4991 points. She "won" the pentathlon at the 1993 World Indoor Championships, but failed a drug test and received a four-year suspension and her performance for the competition was nullified and she was forced to return the gold medal. Upon returning she won two silver medals at the European and World Indoor Championships respectively. She retired after the 2001 season.