Ivet Lalova

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Ivet Lalova (Bulgarian: Ивет Лалова, born May 18, 1984 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 metre and 200 metre sprint events. She is the sixth fastest woman in 100 metre history, and finished fourth in the 100 metre and fifth in the 200 metre event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her career was interrupted for two years between June, 2005 and May, 2007 due to a leg injury.

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[edit] Career overview

[edit] Childhood and junior years

Lalova's parents, Miroslav Lalov and Liliya Petrunova, were talented sprinters. Miroslav was the Bulgarian 200 metre champion in 1966. Lalova began competing in swimming and gymnastics at age 10, and soon switched to track and field. She became the Bulgarian Youth champion in the 100 metre competition in 2000, and placed fourth in the 200 metre at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships. At the 2003 European Athletics Junior Championships, she won the 100 metre and 200 metre events.[1]

[edit] Senior career

On 19 June 2004 in Plovdiv, Lalova tied Irina Privalova as the sixth fastest woman in 100 metre history, recording a time of 10.77 seconds.[2] At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she placed 4th overall in the women's 100m competition, and 5th in the 200m. At the 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships, she was awarded a gold medal for her time of 22.91 seconds in the 200m.

On June 14, 2005, Lalova's career was interrupted when she broke her leg after a collision with another athlete while warming up for the 100m sprint at the Athens Super Grand Prix.[3] In June 2006, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee awarded her the IOC "Sports and Fair Play" prize for her conduct in the aftermath of the incident, when she declined to seek compensation from her fellow competitor or the event's organizers.[4]

Lalova was appointed to the European Athletic Association Athletes Commission for 2006–2010 following an election held in August at the 2006 European Athletics Championships.[5]

In November, 2006, Bulgarian Athletics Federation spokesman Anton Bonov reported that Lalova was fully recovered and targeting a 2007 comeback in time for the IAAF World Championship in Osaka.[6] Lalova returned to competitive racing on May 29, 2007, at the Artur Takac Memorial in Belgrade, winning the 100m in a time of 11.26 seconds.[7] Later in August, she reached the quarterfinals of the women's 100m sprint at the IAAF World Championship in Osaka but failed to progress, finishing in fifth place with a time of 11:33 seconds.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Vangelov, Aleksandar. "Lalova – New Name, Hot Property", IAAF, 2004-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-06-01. 
  2. ^ 100 Metres All Time Women. IAAF (2008-05-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  3. ^ Lachkov, Nikolai. "Lalova breaks leg in Athens", The Sofia Echo, 27 June 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. 
  4. ^ Ivet Lalova gets the prize of the IOC “Sports and Fair Play” for 2005. Plovdiv Guide (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  5. ^ "Top European stars meet in Lausanne", European Athletics Association, 2006-11-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-04. 
  6. ^ "Lalova getting ready to return", European Athletics Association, 2006-11-27. Retrieved on 2007-03-04. 
  7. ^ Ramsak, Bob (2007-05-29). Powell returns with 9.97 world lead – Belgrade report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  8. ^ "Ивет Лалова отпадна още на 1/4-финалите на 100 метра", www.sport1.bg, 2007-08-26. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 

[edit] External links