Irina Slutskaya, born February 9, 1979 in Moscow, Russia is a Russian figure skater. Slutskaya is a two-time World Champion and six-time European Champion, most ever for a Russian woman.

In figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics she won the silver medal for her country and became the second Russian ever to win a medal in the women's event. The competition had been billed in advance as a head-to-head battle between Slutskaya and American Michelle Kwan. Unexpectedly, Kwan made mistakes in her free skate, but still led American Sarah Hughes in the overall standings. Slutskaya had to win the free skate in order to win gold. After a nervous performance, Slutskaya finished second in the free skate. Hughes won the free skate, and because Kwan finished third behind Slutskaya, Hughes won the gold. Russia, still somewhat aggrieved about the outcome of an earlier dispute over the pairs competition, filed a complaint against the result but it was rejected.

In 2005, Irina made a powerful comeback after being the 9th at the World Figure Skating Championships in 2004 and a long stay at a hospital due to an illness.

--Wikipedia