Letitia Vriesde

Letitia Vriesde

Personal information
Born	5 October 1964
Medal record Women's Athletics Competitor for  Suriname World Championships Silver 1995 Gothenburg 800 m Bronze 2001 Edmonton 800 m Pan American Games Gold 1999 Winnipeg 800 m Gold 1991 Havana 1500 m Bronze 1995 Mar del Plata 800 m South American Championships Gold 2001 Manaus 1500 m Silver 2001 Manaus 800 m Central American and Caribbean Games Gold 1990 Mexico City 1500 m Gold 1993 Ponce 800 m Gold 1993 Ponce 1500 m Gold 1998 Maracaibo 800 m Gold 2002 San Salvador 800 m Silver 1990 Mexico City 800 m South American Games Gold 1990 Lima 800 m Gold 1990 Lima 1500 m Silver 1994 Valencia 800 m Silver 1994 Valencia 1500 m

Letitia Alma Vriesde (born 5 October 1964 in Paramaribo) is a track and field athlete from Suriname. Her main event is the 800 m. She is the first (and as of 2010, only) sportsperson from Surinam to compete at five Olympic Games.^[1] Vriesde holds the South American records for 800 m, 1000 m and 1500 m (indoors and outdoors) and also for 3000 m (indoors).

Career

She started running in Suriname but after her National Olympic Committee failed to send her to the 1984 Summer Olympics. Her coach was Luiz de Oliveira. She left Suriname after the 1984 Olympics to train in the Netherlands. She competed in the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics, and broke into the highest echelons of her event in 1991, when she reached the finals of both 800 m and 1500 m at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, finishing in fifth and ninth places respectively.

She won a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 1995 behind Ana Quirot. This was in addition to the bronze medal she had already achieved earlier that year at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. These medals were the first to be won by a South American female athlete in world championship competition. She also won a bronze medal at the 2001 world outdoor championships, but has never managed to reach an Olympic final. At the 1992 Summer Olympics she set a record of sorts by recording the fastest ever non-qualifying time in an 800 m semi final. She has also won many medals at the Pan-American Games and Central American Games.

She was disqualified and stripped of her gold medal after the 2003 Pan-American Games after testing positive for excessive caffeine levels. She was not banned however and went on to compete at that year's World Championships.

At the end of the 2005 season, having contested seven world championships and five Olympic Games, she declared that she would not run 800 m competitively anymore, and that she would instead focus on longer distances, including the 3000 m steeplechase.

Personal bests

400 m 52.01 (1997)

800 m 1:56.68 (1995)

1000 m 2:32.25 (1991)

1500 m 4:05.67 (1991)

Mile 4:30.45 (1992)

3000 m 9:15.64 (1991)

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

References

• Website of Letitia Vriesde (in Dutch)

External links

• Letitia Vriesde profile at IAAF

Awards
Preceded by Petra Kamstra	Rotterdam Sportswoman of the Year 1991	Succeeded by Petra Kamstra
Preceded by None	Rotterdam Sportswoman of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Francis Hoenselaar
Olympic Games
Preceded by Enrico Linscheer	Flagbearer for  Suriname Athens 2004 Beijing 2008	Succeeded by Anthony Nesty