Rosibel García

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is Mena.
Medal record
Competitor for  Colombia
Women's athletics
Pan American Games
Silver 2007 Rio de Janeiro 800 m
Silver 2011 Guadalajara 1500 m
Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro 1500 m
Bronze 2011 Guadalajara 800 m
South American Championships
Gold 2005 Cali 800 m
Gold 2005 Cali 1500 m
Gold 2007 Montevideo 1500 m
Gold 2009 Lima 800 m
Gold 2009 Lima 1500 m
Gold 2011 Buenos Aires 800 m
Gold 2011 Buenos Aires 1500 m
Silver 2005 Cali 4×400 m relay
Bronze 2003 Barquisimeto 800 m
Bronze 2003 Barquisimeto 4×400 m relay

Rosibel García Mena[1] (born 13 February 1981) is a Colombian track and field athlete who specialises in middle-distance track events. She has represented her country at the Summer Olympics and has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics.

She is the Colombian record holder for the 800 metres and 1500 metres events. The 800 m record was set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she became the first Colombian woman ever to reach the semi-finals of the event. She was one of South America's foremost female middle-distance runners in the first decade of the 21st century, having been a three-time South American Champion in the 1500 m and a two-time champion over 800 m. In addition to the medals she has won at the Bolivarian Games and various Central American competitions, she won a silver and bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Contents

Career

Born in Jamundí, Valle del Cauca, Colombia,[2] she began her international career with a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the 1999 South American Junior Championships.[3] She competed on the world stage the year after, reaching the semi-finals of the 400 metres at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[4] Her first senior medal was an 800 m silver at the 2001 Bolivarian Games.[5] Soon after she was achieving medals at the continental level: after an 800 m bronze at the 2003 South American Championships in Athletics, she helped the Colombian women's 4×400 metres relay team to win a second bronze with veteran Mirtha Brock.[6] García made her first appearance at the Pan American Games that year, finishing thirteenth in the women's 800 m final.[7]

She reached new heights on home turf in 2005. First, at the 2005 South American Championships in Athletics in Cali in July, she scored an 800 m and 1500 metres double continental gold, as well as winning the 4×400 m relay silver medal.[8] The following month she competed at the 2005 Bolivarian Games (staged in the Colombian department of Armenia) and took an even greater haul: again winning in the 800 and 1500 m races, but this time leading the relay team to the gold medal.[5][9]

At the 2006 Ibero-American Athletics Championships García set a new Colombian record of 2:01.62 in the 800 m, winning the gold in the process, and also won a silver with the relay team.[10][11] She attended the Central American and Caribbean Games, taking the 800 m silver behind the 2005 world champion Zulia Calatayud and setting a new Games record of 4:18.29 for the 1500 m gold.

She took part in three major events in 2007. The first event was the 2007 South American Championships in Athletics, where she was set to defend her titles. She was leading in the 800 m race, but in the last fifty metres of the race she fell and did not manage to make the podium.[12] Such problems did not arise in the 1500 m race, where she beat the newly crowned 800 m champion, Marian Burnett, to the gold medal.[13] García represented Colombia for a second time at the 2007 Pan American Games. She won the 800 m silver (finishing ahead of Calatayud) and broke the national record in the 1500 m, finishing in 4:15.78, to take a bronze medal three days later.[14][15] After this, she was selected to take part in her first World Championships in Athletics. However, she did not progress beyond the heats stage of the 800 m competition at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.[4]

The next season was more successful for her at the major competitions. She was once again dominant at regional level, taking two golds at the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships.[16] She was also entered into her first Summer Olympics – gaining selection to compete in the 800 m Olympic race. She finished second in her heat and progressed to the semi-finals of the competition, becoming the first ever Colombian woman to progress that far in the event.[17] She finished fifth in the semi-finals, setting a new national record of 1:59.38 – this was the best performance by a South American in the event at the 2008 Olympics.[18]

At the 2009 South American Championships in Athletics she became both the 800 m and 1500 m champion again.[19] She ran in the women's 800 race at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but as had happened two years before, she did not get beyond the heats (just beaten to the qualification spot by Kenia Sinclair).[20]

Personal bests

Event Time (min:sec) Venue Date
400 m 54.56 Cali, Colombia 23 July 2000
800 m 1:59.38 NR Beijing, China 16 August 2008
1500 m 4:15.78 NR Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 27 July 2007

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1999 South American Junior Championships Concepción, Chile 3rd 800 m
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 8 sf 400 m
2001 Bolivarian Games Ambato, Ecuador 2nd 800 m
2003 South American Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 3rd 800 m
3rd 4×400 m relay
Pan American Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 13th 800 m
2005 South American Championships Cali, Colombia 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
2nd 4×400 m relay
Bolivarian Games Armenia, Colombia 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
1st 4×400 m relay
2006 Ibero-American Athletics Championships Ponce, Puerto Rico 1st 800 m 2:01.62 NR
2nd 4×400 m relay
Central American and Caribbean Games Cartagena, Colombia 2nd 800 m
1st 1500 m 4:18.29 GR
2007 South American Championships São Paulo, Brazil ? 800 m
1st 1500 m
Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2nd 800 m
3rd 1500 m 4:15.78 NR
World Championships Osaka, Japan 5 h 800 m
2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships Cali, Colombia 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
Summer Olympics Beijing, China 5 sf 800 m 1:59.38 NR
2009 South American Championships Lima, Peru 1st 800 m
1st 1500 m
World Championships Berlin, Germany 4 h 800 m
2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1st 800 m 2:03.77
1st 1500 m 4:21.17
2011 South American Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina 1st 800 m 2:04.76
1st 1500 m 4:22.18
Pan American Games Guadalajara, Mexico 3rd 800 m 2:04.45
2nd 1500 m 4:26.78

References

  1. ^ Hoja de vida del Deportista (Spanish). Juegos Nacionales de Colombia. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  2. ^ Rosibel García. Sports-reference. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  3. ^ South American Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  4. ^ a b c García, Rosibel. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  5. ^ a b Juegos Bolivarianos. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  6. ^ 42 Campeonato Sudamericano Mayores 2003. AthleCAC. Retrieved on 2010-02-09.
  7. ^ XIV Pan American Games. AthleCAC. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  8. ^ 43 Campeonato Sudamericano Mayores 2005. AthleCAC. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  9. ^ Pagina de Resultados (Spanish). 2005 Bolivarian Games. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  10. ^ Cuatro oros en Iberoamericano de atletismo (Spanish). Universia. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  11. ^ XII Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo (Spanish). Federación Colombiana de Atletismo. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  12. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2007-06-09). 6.91 Long Jump victory for Maggi over Costa - South American Championships Day Two. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  13. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2007-06-10). 14.57 Area Triple Jump Record for Costa as South American Champs finish. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  14. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2007-07-25). Barber takes 100m title with 11.02 – Pan American Games, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  15. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2007-07-28). Cuba's five gold medal party – Pan-Am Games, Day 5. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  16. ^ Results service Campeonato CAC de Atletismo 2008. AthleCAC. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  17. ^ Rosibel García primera colombiana en una semifinal olímpica de 800 (Spanish). Soitu.es Actualidad (2008-08-15). Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  18. ^ 2008 Olympics 800 Metres - W Semi-Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  19. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2009-06-22).Brazil repeats triumph at South American Championships – Day 3 report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  20. ^ 800 Metres - Men Heats. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  21. ^ Colombian National Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.

External links