Athanasia Tsoumeleka
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 2 January 1982 Preveza, Greece | ||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||
| Country |  Greece | ||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||
| Event | 20 km walk | ||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||
| Personal best | 1:29.12 | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||
Athanasia Tsoumeleka (
Until 2003 Tsoumeleka was a largely unknown athlete, and she only finished seventh at the World Championships that year.[citation needed] 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).[citation needed]
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.[1] Tsoumeleka expressed doubts about the validity of the procedure, and then announced her immediate retirement from the sport.[1] 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.[2] Her "B" sample also tested positive for CERA.[3] 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.[4]
Achievements
| 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 | PR China
|
DSQ | 20 km | ||
References
- ^ a b "Ex-Olympic champion tests positive for EPO". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 17 January 2009.
- ^ Grohmann, Karolos (29 April 2009). "Beijing 1,500 gold medallist tests positive". Reuters.
- ^ Wilson, Stephen (8 July 2009). "Backup samples positive for 5 Olympians". Associated Press.
- ^ IOC Disciplinary Commission Decision (18 November 2009) "IOC source: IOC sanctions five athletes who competed in Beijing" International Olympic Committee
External links
- Athanasia Tsoumeleka at World Athletics
- Athanasia Tsoumeleka at Olympedia
- Athanasia Tsoumeleka at Olympics.com
- Athanasia Tsoumeleka at the Hellenic Olympic Committee
| 10 km | |
|---|---|
| 20 km | |
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