| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 November 1965 |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Sport | Athletics |
Bigna Alinda Samuel (born 9 November 1965) is a Vincentian middle distance runner who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, [1] and also competed in three IAAF World Championships. [2]
Samuel competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in the 1500 metres and she came 8th in her heat and failed to advance to the final. [3] Eight years later at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics Samuel competed in two events, first up was the 3000 metres and she came 11th in her heat out of 14 runners, [4] then five days later she competed in the 1500 metres where again she finished 11th in her heat and failed to advance to the final. [5]
The following year Samuel was picked to represent Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres, she ran in the first heat and after running a time of 4:33.41 she finished 13th out of 15 starters in her heat so not advancing to the semi-finals. [6]
In 1995 Samuel competed in her third IAAF World Championships in Athletics when she traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden, she again competed in the 1500 metres, although she finished 9th in her heat she was less than seconds behind from qualifying for the next round. [7]
Sonia O'Sullivan is an Irish former track and field athlete. She won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1995 World Championships, and a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2000 Olympic Games. Her 2000 m world record of 5:25.36, set in 1994 stood until 2017.
Letitia Alma Vriesde is a female former track and field athlete from Suriname, who specialised in the 800 metres but was also successful over 1500 metres. She is the first sportsperson from Suriname to compete at five Olympic Games. She won a silver medal at the 1995 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships. Vriesde holds the South American records for the 800 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres and also for the 3000 metres (indoors).
Jéssica de Barros Augusto, ComM is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country, road running and in middle-distance and long-distance track events. At club level, she represents Sporting CP.
Maria Albertina da Costa Dias Pereira is a former Portuguese long-distance runner. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988. She was the first female Portuguese world champion in cross country running, having won the long race at the 1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500m, and the indoor events of the one mile, 3000m and 5000m. She holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one woman in track history, with her current haul of four, plus two world bests.
Shannon Solares-Rowbury is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also represented the United States at the World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning the bronze medal in the 1500 meters in 2009. In 2015, Rowbury helped set the world record with the U.S. team for the distance medley relay event, and set a then-American record for 1500 meters on July 17, 2015, breaking Mary Slaney's 32 year-old mark with a time of 3:56.29.
René Kalmer is a South African runner who has competed over distances ranging from 800 metres to the marathon. She represented South Africa at the 2008 Summer Olympics, running in the 1500 metres. She then represented South Africa again at the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the marathon.
Hannah England is a British middle-distance running athlete who specialised in the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run. At 1500 m, she is the 2011 World Championship silver medallist and finished fourth at the 2013 World Championships. She also competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. England is one of only five British women in history to have run under two minutes for 800 m and nine minutes for 3000 m, the others being Christina Boxer, Kirsty Wade, Jessica Judd and Laura Muir. She announced her retirement from athletics on 14 January 2020.
Antje Möldner-Schmidt is a retired German track and field athlete who specialised in middle distance running and the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Habiba Ghribi is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. She is also the Tunisian record holder in the event, having run 9:05.36 at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels in September 2015.
Luchia Yishak is a former Ethiopian long-distance runner. She ran for Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996.
Annette Sergent is a French former long-distance runner. She represented her country three times at the Summer Olympics, but it was in cross country running that she had her greatest success. She became the first Frenchwoman to win a world title in the sport at the 1987 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won for a second time in 1989. In addition to these victories, she made eleven appearances at the competition and placed third in both 1986 and 1988.
Celma da Graça Soares Bonfim is a Santomean long-distance runner. Da Graça represented São Tomé and Príncipe at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she carried the nation's flag for her team during the opening ceremony. She ran in the first heat of the women's 5000 metres, against fifteen other athletes, including Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba, who eventually won the gold medal in this event. She finished the race in last place by more than forty seconds behind Malawi's Lucia Chandamale, with her personal best and national record-breaking time of 17:25.99. Da Graça, however, failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed thirtieth overall, and was ranked farther below six mandatory slots for the next round. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, da Graça competed in the Women's 1500 metres, but finished 14th, last in her heat, with a time of 4:38.86, failing to advance to the semifinals.
Marie-Pierre Duros is a French former middle- and long-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres. Her personal best of 8:38.97 minutes for the event is a former French record, which lasted from 1989 to 1999. She was a two-time Olympian and three times participant at the World Championships in Athletics.
Deborah Dawn "Debbie" Scott-Bowker is a Canadian former middle- and long-distance runner. A three-time Olympian for Canada, she reached the 1500 m final in 1984, and both the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1988. She was also a three-time World Championship finalist, reaching the 1500 m and 3000 m finals in 1987, and the 1500 m final in 1991.
Naomi Sedney is a Dutch sprinter. She has been most successful as the anchor of the Dutch Relay team and is co-holder of the national record 4 x 100 m relay. In 2022 her younger sister Zoë Sedney joined her in the Dutch Relay team.
Ellen Buchleitner is a German former track and field athlete who was a middle-distance specialist. Representing East Germany, she won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1989 European Indoor Championships and a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1989 World Indoor Championships, before going on to win a silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1990 European Championships. She won three East German national titles.
Peruth Chemutai is a Ugandan steeplechase runner. She won the gold medal in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the first Ugandan woman ever to win an Olympic medal.
Cornelia Marina "Lia" Melis is a long-distance runner who competed for Aruba at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics, and at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and 1991 World Championships in Athletics.
Camille French is a New Zealand long distance runner.
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