Irina Bliznova

Irina Yuryevna Bliznova (Ирина Юрьевна Близнова, born 6 October 1986) is a Russian handball player, who plays for Lada Togliatti. 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).