Churandy Martina

Churandy Martina

Martina during 2011 World Athletics Championships
Personal information
Nationality  Netherlands
Born 3 July 1984 (1984-07-03) (age 27)
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 74 kg (160 lb)
Sport
Sport Running
Event(s) 100 metres, 200 metres
Medal record
Men's athletics
Competitor for the  Netherlands Antilles
Pan American Games
Gold 2007 Rio de Janerio 100m
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold 2010 Mayaguez 100 m
Gold 2010 Mayaguez 200 m
Bronze 2010 Mayaguez 4×100 m relay
Gold 2006 Cartagena 100 m
Gold 2006 Cartagena 4×100 m relay
Continental Cup
Silver 2010 Split 200 m
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold 2003 Bridgetown 100 m

Churandy Martina (born Willemstad, 3 July 1984) is a sprinter from Curaçao, currently representing the Netherlands. His personal best time over 100 metres is 9.93 seconds, a national record, achieved in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games final. In addition to this he holds the 200 metres national record with a time of 20.11 s, also achieved at Beijing 2008.

Contents

Career

Born in Curaçao, Martina began his international career at the youth level, reaching the 100 metres semifinals of the 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics. Moving up to the junior level, he ran at the World Junior Championships in Athletics in 2000 and 2002, although he was less successful at that level. His first gold came in the 100 m at the 2002 South American Games in Belém, Brazil.[1] He improved his personal best to 10.29 seconds in 2003,[2] and represented the Netherlands Antilles at the 2003 CAC Championships (setting a personal best in the heats), and also competed at the 2003 Pan American Games (reaching the semis). He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, although he was eliminated in the heats of the 100 metres.[3]

He made his first Olympic appearance as one of three competitors representing the Netherlands Antilles at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He bore their flag in the opening ceremony. The 2004 season also saw much improvement in his times as he knocked 0.16 off his previous year's personal record with a 10.13-second run in Santo Domingo.[2] Martina won the 100 m bronze medal at the 2005 Central American and Caribbean Championships and also anchored the Netherlands Antilles team to a national record time in the 4×100 metres relay to win a silver medal.[4][5] He led the team to the final at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and improved the national record further to 38.45 seconds for sixth place.[6] He competed in the individual 100 m but was knocked out in the second round.[2]

The following year he ran a Games record to win the 100 m gold medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC Games).[7] He also led the relay team to victory for his second gold medal of the tournament. He improved his personal best to 10.04 seconds that year with a run in El Paso, Texas.[2] He had success at continental level in July 2007 when he won the gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in the 100 metres, having already run a Games record-equalling time in the qualifiers.[8] He finished fifth in the finals of both the 100 m and 200 m at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. He ended the year with a sixth place finish in the 100 m at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final.[2]

2008 Summer Olympics

He bore the national flag for the second consecutive time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the second round of heats he set a new national record in the 100 m, running below ten seconds for the first time in his career with a time of 9.99 s. In the semi finals he finished third in his race behind Asafa Powell and Richard Thompson, but improved the national record to 9.94 s. He qualified for the final in which he came close to the medals, finishing in fourth place behind Usain Bolt, Thompson and Walter Dix. Whilst he left the final without a medal, he had cause for celebration as he broke the national record for a third time, finishing in 9.93 s.[9]

On 20 August 2008, he originally placed second in the 200 m at the Olympics, finishing behind Usain Bolt with a time of 19.82 s. This would have been both a national record and the second-ever Olympic medal for the Netherlands Antilles after Jan Boersma's silver in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. However he was disqualified an hour after the race for a lane violation. American Wallace Spearmon, who had initially placed third, was disqualified moments after the race for having stepped on his inside lane line during the race. The American coaches appealed the decision and upon viewing footage of Spearmon's offence they noticed that Martina had committed the same infraction. They dropped their appeal for Spearmon in favour of a successful protest against Martina. As a result of the disqualifications, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, both of the United States, were promoted to silver and bronze respectively.[10]

However, on 24 August, the Netherlands Antilles filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reinstate Martina's medal, arguing that the American protest came after the 30-minute deadline for protests and appeals set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and also that they have their own video footage (not the official Olympic video footage) showing that Martina never left his lane.[10] On March 6, 2009, the CAS rejected the appeal against Martina's disqualification.[11] Shawn Crawford, who had been awarded the Olympic silver medal, reportedly gave his medal to Martina on August 28, 2008 in a tremendous show of sportsmanship.[12]

At the start of the 2009 outdoor season, Martina set a world-leading time of 9.97 seconds in the 100 m at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games; the fourth time he had finished with a sub-ten-second time.[13] He could not build upon his Olympic success at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and only reached the quarter-finals of the men's 100 m. He was sixth at the 2010 IAAF World Athletics Final—the competition's final edition. He defended his regional title at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, holding off a challenge from Daniel Bailey to win in 10.07 seconds—just one hundredth off his championship record.[14]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Netherlands Antilles
2002 South American Games Belém, Brazil 1st 100 m
2003 World Championships Paris, France 5th (heats) 100 m
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 6th (quarter-finals) 100 m
6th 4x100 m relay
CAC Championships Nassau, Bahamas 3rd 100 m
2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Cartagena, Colombia 1st 100 m 10.06 s CR
1st 4x100 m relay
2007 Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 100 m
World Championships Osaka, Japan 5th 100 m
5th 200 m
2008 Summer Olympics Beijing, PR China 4th 100 m
DSQ 200 m 19.82
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 4th (quarter-finals) 100 m
2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1st 100 m
1st 200 m
3rd 4x100 m relay

Personal bests

Date Event Venue Time (seconds)
25 February 2006 60 metres Houston, Texas 6.72
16 August 2008 100 metres Beijing, China 9.93 — National record
8 July 2010 200 metres Lausanne, Switzerland 20.08 — National record
31 March 2007 400 metres El Paso, Texas 46.13

If not for the disqualification in 2008 in Beijing, his PB would be 19.82

References

  1. ^ South American Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Martina, Churandy biography". IAAF. http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=aho/athcode=170105/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
  3. ^ 2003 World Championships 100 metres heats. IAAF (2003-08-24). Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  4. ^ Finisterre, Terry (2005-07-11). Meet record continue to tumble – CAC Championships, Day Two. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  5. ^ Finisterre, Terry (2005-07-10)A storm of top action in front of packed crowds - CAC Championships, Day One. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  6. ^ 2005 World Championships 4x100 Metres Relay - M Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  7. ^ Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2006-07-27). Robles and Martina break Games records - CAC Games Day Two. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  8. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2007-07-25). Barber takes 100m title with 11.02 – Pan American Games, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  9. ^ Athlete biography: Churandy Martina, beijing2008.cn. Retrieved on 2008-08-26
  10. ^ a b "US men's sprint medal jeopardized by protest". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 2008-08-24. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/24/sports/AS-OLY-ATH-200m-Protest.php. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  11. ^ Martina's bid to reclaim silver rejected, ESPN.com, March 6, 2009.
  12. ^ "Martina gets silver lining in 200m". 2008-12-02. http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&atclid=3625870&CFID=75084659&CFTOKEN=64541432&jsessionid=8430d2ea20756e4807d2. Retrieved 2008-02-14. 
  13. ^ Van Hemert, Wim (2009-06-01). Four world leads in Hengelo – IAAF World Athletics Tour. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-02.
  14. ^ Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2010-07-26). Martina defends 100m title, Brathwaite dominates the sprint hurdles in Mayaguez – CAC Games, days 1 and 2. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-27.
  15. ^ Burns, Bob (2006-06-05). "Stars aligned for stellar meet". NCAA. http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-otrack/spec-rel/060506aad.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 

External links