Athanasia Tsoumeleka
Personal information | |||||||||
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Born | (1982-01-02) 2 January 1982 (age 42) Preveza, Greece | ||||||||
Sport | |||||||||
Country | ![]() | ||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||
Event | 20 km walk | ||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||
Personal best | 1:29.12 | ||||||||
Medal record
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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
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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Representing ![]() | |||||
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 |
References
- ^ a b "Gold and silver lining". ekathimerini. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ 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
- v
- t
- e
- 1992
Chen Yueling (CHN)
- 1996
Yelena Nikolayeva (RUS)
- 2000
Wang Liping (CHN)
- 2004
Athanasia Tsoumeleka (GRE)
- 2008
Olga Kaniskina (RUS)
- 2012
Qieyang Shijie (CHN)
- 2016
Liu Hong (CHN)
- 2020
Antonella Palmisano (ITA)
- 2024
Yang Jiayu (CHN)
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