Jump to content

Athanasia Tsoumeleka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Athanasia Tsoumeleka
Personal information
Born (1982-01-02) 2 January 1982 (age 42)
Preveza, Greece
Sport
Country Greece
SportAthletics
Event20 km walk
Achievements and titles
Personal best1:29.12
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 20 km race walking

Athanasia Tsoumeleka (Greek: Αθανασία Τσουμελέκα, [aθanaˈsia tsumeˈleka]; born 2 January 1982 in Preveza, Greece) is a Greek race walker, who won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She was named the Greek Female Athlete of the Year for 2004.

Until 2003 Tsoumeleka was a largely unknown athlete, and she only finished seventh at the World Championships that year.[1] To everybody's great surprise, she won the Olympic gold medal race held in her own country ahead of Russia's Olimpiada Ivanova (silver) and Australia's Jane Saville (bronze).[1]

In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she finished 9th in 20 km walk. After the end of the Games, a urine sample she had given on 6 August tested positive for erythropoietin, when subjected to a new test for CERA.[2] Tsoumeleka expressed doubts about the validity of the procedure, and then announced her immediate retirement from the sport.[2] On 29 April 2009 it was announced that Tsoumeleka had tested positive for CERA in a test on a blood sample provided during the 2008 Olympics.[3] Her "B" sample also tested positive for CERA.[4] On 18 November 2009 the International Olympic Committee decided to disqualify Tsoumeleka from the Women's 20 km Walk event of the 2008 Olympic Games where she placed 9th.[5]

Achievements

[edit]
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Greece
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 4th 10,000m 47:10.96
2002 European Championships Munich, Germany 9th 20 km 1:31:25 SB
2003 European U23 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 20 km 1:33:55
World Championships Paris, France 7th 20 km 1:29:34 NR
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 1st 20 km 1:29.12 PB
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 20 km DSQ
2008 World Race Walking Cup Cheboksary, Russia 14th 20 km 1:30:40
Olympic Games Beijing, PR China DSQ 20 km 1:27:54

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Gold and silver lining". ekathimerini. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Ex-Olympic champion tests positive for EPO". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 17 January 2009.
  3. ^ Grohmann, Karolos (29 April 2009). "Beijing 1,500 gold medallist tests positive". Reuters.
  4. ^ Wilson, Stephen (8 July 2009). "Backup samples positive for 5 Olympians". Associated Press.
  5. ^ IOC Disciplinary Commission Decision (18 November 2009) "IOC source: IOC sanctions five athletes who competed in Beijing" International Olympic Committee
[edit]