Irina Press, (born March 10, 1939, Kharkov, Ukr., U.S.S.R. [now Kharkiv, Ukr.]—died Feb. 22, 2004, Russia), Soviet athlete who received two track-and-field Olympic gold medals throughout a profession during which she set 11 world data.
Press received a gold medal within the 1960 Olympics in Rome within the 80-metre hurdles, setting an Olympic file (10.6 sec) within the semifinals. Her sister Tamara additionally competed in Rome and received a gold medal within the shot put; within the course of, they grew to become the primary sisters to win gold medals in the identical Olympics. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Press completed fourth within the 80-metre hurdles, however she received her second gold medal within the pentathlon, which was a ladies’s occasion for the primary time within the 1964 Games. She had one of the best time or distance in two of the 5 occasions, tallying 5,246 factors and setting a world file.
Throughout a lot of their careers, Irina and Tamara confronted widespread hypothesis both that they had been taking male hormones or that they had been really males. When the International Amateur Athletic Federation (later known as the International Association of Athletics Federations) introduced in 1966 that it could conduct intercourse testing of athletes competing within the upcoming European championships, each sisters withdrew from the competitors. Neither competed within the Olympics after 1964.