Andrés Manuel Díaz
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics
| ||
Representing  Spain
| ||
Universiade
| ||
 |
1995 Fukuoka | 800 m |
World Indoor Championships
| ||
 |
1999 Maebashi | 1500 metres |
Andrés Manuel Díaz (born 12 July 1969 in
His personal best outdoors is 3:31.48 minutes, but it was indoors where he excelled – his time of 3:33.32 minutes was the European indoor record until 2021.
Career
His first international appearances came in 1995, when he reached the semi-finals of the
Díaz changed his focus to the 1500 metres from 1997 onwards and he knocked more than six seconds off his personal best that year, setting a time of 3:34.52 minutes. He reached the 1500 m final at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships and finished in fifth place. A consecutive fourth-place finish at the 1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships saw him again outside of the medals on the major stage. He improved his time further to 3:32.17 minutes in July 1998 and came seventh at the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final that year.[3] A surprise European indoor record for the 1500 m came at a meeting in Piraeus in February 1999 as he bettered Peter Elliott's record by over second with a run of 3:33.32 minutes.[4] He ran another fast time at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships the following month, just a little slower than Elliott's former record, but was beaten by Haile Gebrselassie and Laban Rotich, taking the bronze medal for his first podium finish on the major stage.[5] The 1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville saw Díaz, alongside Reyes Estévez and Fermín Cacho, vying for the 1500 m medals on home turf. In the fastest race ever seen at the competition, Díaz ran a personal best of 3:31.83 minutes but he ended up behind his compatriots with a fifth-place finish.[6]
On his second outing on the Olympic stage he reached the 1500 m, taking seventh at the 2000 Sydney Games. After this performance he ran the best 1500 m of his career at the Herculis meet in Monaco, completing the distance in a time of 3:31.48 minutes. From 2001 to 2003, he began to run in the 3000 metres and he won a national title in and a silver medal at the 2001 European Cup.[7] His last appearance on the world stage came at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, but he did not manage to finish in his heat.[8] He retired in 2003.[3]
References
- ^ Summer Universiade (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Andrés Díaz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ^ IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ Nikitaridis, Michalis (1999-02-25). New European record for Andres Diaz in Athinai 99 International Meeting. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ Gordon, Ed (1999-03-07). Double golds for Szabo and Gebrselassie and 2 world record relays in Maebashi Archived 2004-12-31 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ Men 1500m Final Archived January 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ European Cup. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
- ^ 2001 World Championships - Men's 1500 metres results Archived August 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-08.
