Irina Bondarchuk

Irina Bondarchuk (; born 17 September 1952) is a Russian former Soviet long-distance runner.

Bondarchuk's greatest successes were in cross country running. She was the individual silver medallist at the 1980 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and took three team titles between 1977 and 1981. She also placed fourth individually in 1979 and took a team silver medal in 1985. This was a period of much success for the Soviet women, with Lyudmila Bragina, Yelena Sipatova, Giana Romanova and Svetlana Ulmasova being other leading Soviet athletes of the time.

In track running, Bondarchuk was a four-time national champion with one indoor and one outdoor title in the 3000 metres and two titles in the 5000 metres. She was the first ever Soviet champion in the women's 5000 m in 1980, as the event was added to the standard programme that year.

Bondarchuk focused more on longer distances in her late career and set bests of 2:35:17 hours for the marathon in 1984 and 33:55.98 minutes for the 10,000 metres in 1986. Bondarchuk relocated to the United States in the 1990s and continued her long-distance career there. She made six appearances at the Austin Marathon, winning in 1994 and coming runner-up in 1995. She also had five finishes at the Houston Marathon, with her best finish being 13th place. She twice competed at the Boston Marathon (1993 and 1995) and was within the top 20 both times. She continued to compete as entered her forties and regularly finished in the top twenty of high profile American road races in the late 1990s.

Personal bests 3000 metres – 8:42.84 min (1982) 5000 metres – 15:12.62 min (1982) 10,000 metres – 33:55.98 min (1986) Marathon – 2:35:17 hrs (1984)

International competitions

National titles Soviet Athletics Championships 3000 metres: 1977 5000 metres: 1980, 1982 Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships 3000 metres: 1976