| Irina Alexeeva | |
|---|---|
 Alexeeva at the 2018 World Championships | |
|
Full name |
Irina Nikolayevna Alexeeva |
|
Nickname(s) |
Ira |
|
Country represented |
|
|
Born |
April 20 2002 |
|
Years on National Team |
2018 |
|
Club |
WOGA |
|
Coach(es) |
Natalya Boyarskaya, Megan Haught; Valeri Liukin, Dina Kamalova (former) |
|
Current status |
Retired |
|
College team |
Stanford Cardinals |
Irina Nikolayevna Alexeeva (Russian: Ирина Николаевна Алексеева, born April 20 in Moscow) is a Russian gymnast who trained at WOGA in the United States. She is the 2018 European Champion with her team and 2016 U.S. Classic Junior Champion. In the fall of 2021, she began attending Stanford University and competing for their gymnastics team, making her the first Russian National Team member to compete in NCAA gymnastics.
Early Life[]
Alexeeva started gymnastics when she still lived in Russia. Initially, she trained alongside future Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina and her sister Nailya under Dina Kamalova. When Alexeeva was seven, Kamalova left Russia to coach at WOGA in Plano, Texas. Alexeeva and her family made the move to the United States as well, as Kamalova was also a family friend. Alexeeva stayed at WOGA after Kamalova left.
Pre-Elite Career[]
2013-2014[]
Alexeeva competed at the WOGA Classic, winning team, balance beam, and floor exercise gold and placing tenth in the all-around. That fall, she won all-around gold at the Elite Gym Massilia in France. The following year, she returned to the WOGA Classic, winning team gold, floor exercise bronze, and placing fourth in the all-around. At the Nadia Comaneci International Invitational, she won all-around gold and team silver. At the International Gymnix in Canada, she only competed exhibition routines, but she would have placed third in the all-around had her scores counted.
2015-2016[]
Alexeeva returned to the WOGA Classic, winning gold on floor exercise and placing fifth on uneven bars, sixth in the all-around, seventh on vault, and ninth on balance beam. The following year, she swept the gold medals at the WOGA Classic, and won uneven bars gold and placed sixth in the all-around at the International Gymnix.
Junior Career[]
Alexeeva qualified elite in the spring of 2016. Her elite debut was at the American Classic, where she won all-around bronze. In June, she competed at the U.S. Classic, winning all-around and balance beam gold, floor exercise silver, and placed fourth on uneven bars, and sixteenth on vault. However, despite her win, she was not a U.S. citizen and therefore not eligible to compete at the National Championships. In a post-competition interview, Alexeeva said she wanted to gain U.S. citizenship.[1]
In November, she competed at the Elite Gym Massilia in France, winning all-around and uneven bars gold and balance beam bronze.
Senior Career[]
2018[]
Alexeeva made her senior debut at the WOGA Classic in February, winning floor exercise gold, uneven bars silver, all-around bronze, and placing fourth on vault and eighth on balance beam. In March, she traveled with other WOGA gymnasts to compete at the International Gymnix in Canada, where she won uneven bars and floor exercise gold and all-around bronze.
Alexeeva had trouble gaining American citizenship, so she readjusted her goals and decided to compete for her native Russia.[2] Given that she did not train in the Russian system in almost a decade, it seemed unlikely, but she was invited to compete as a guest at the Russian Championships in April. There, she placed seventh in the all-around and won silver on bars and bronze on floor exercise.
Alexeeva was added to the Russian National Team in late May.[3] She planned to return for the Russian Cup in June,[4] until a knee injury prevented her from competing.[5] Despite the injury, she was well enough to compete at a verification meet and was subsequently named to the Russian team for the European Championships, where she helped Russia win team gold.[6] She was later named to the Russian team for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in late October, helping them win a team silver medal and automatically qualify a full team to the 2020 Olympics. Individually, she placed thirteenth in the all-around.
2019-2021[]
Alexeeva took some time off from the Russian National team to focus on her education.[7] In September, she confirmed she would be attending Stanford University in the fall of 2021 and competing for their gymnastics team, which makes her the first Russian National Team member to compete in NCAA gymnastics.[8]
Medal Count[]
| Year | Event | TF | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | WOGA Classic | 1st | 10 | 1st | 1st | ||
| Élite Gym Massilia | 1st | ||||||
| 2014 | WOGA Classic | 1st | 4 | 3rd | |||
| Nadia Comaneci International Invitational | 2nd | 1st | |||||
| 2015 | WOGA Classic | 6 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 1st | |
| 2016 | WOGA Classic | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| International Gymnix | 6 | 1st | |||||
| American Classic | 3rd | ||||||
| U.S. Classic | 1st | 16 | 4 | 1st | 2nd | ||
| Élite Gym Massilia | 1st | 1st | 3rd | ||||
| 2018 | WOGA Classic | 3rd | 4 | 2nd | 8 | 1st | |
| International Gymnix | 3rd | 1st | 1st | ||||
| 2018 | Russian Championships | 7 | 2nd | 3rd | |||
| Glasgow European Championships | 1st | ||||||
| Doha World Championships | 2nd | 13 |
Floor Music[]
2018 - "No More Nadine" by Saint-Preux