Irina Nikolaeva is a Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 figure skater. She placed 4th at the 1999 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

1999 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion. The 1999 competition took place between November 21 and November 29, 1998 in Zagreb, Croatia...

. She twice was the first qualifier for the Junior Grand Prix Final, with a highest placement of fourth at the Final. At her senior international debut, the 1998 Skate Israel

Skate Israel

Skate Israel is a senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Metulla, Israel. Skaters compete in four disciplines: ladies and men's singles, pairs and ice dancing...

, she placed 6th. She placed 8th at the 2001 Finlandia Trophy

Finlandia Trophy

The Finlandia Trophy is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Finland. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating and ice dancing, although not every discipline has been included in every year...

.

Following her retirement from competitive skating, she toured professionally.