During the 2001 Winter Universiade in Zakopane, she won gold medals in the 7.5 km sprint, 10 km pursuit and 3 × 7.5 km relay. Later on, she succeeded in winning Continental gold medals another five times during the 2002-2005 year. At the 2006 Biathlon World Championships Irina Malgina was part of the mixed-relay that won owing to her and Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. accurate shooting at the last stage.