Pınar Saka is a Turkish female track running athlete in the sprint discipline competing in the categories 100 m, 200 m and 400 m. She is the Turkish national record holder for 400 m. This time is the first time a Turkish woman ran under 52 seconds and also a qualifying mark for Olympics that will be held in London in 2012. She was chosen as Regional Athlete of the Year in Midwest both in 2008 and 2009. There were 8 regional athletes nominated for "National Athlete of the Year" award and in 2009, she receiveds that honor.
Claudia Pechstein is a German speed skater. She has won five Olympic gold medals. With a total of nine Olympic medals, five gold, two silver, and two bronze, she was previously the most successful Olympic speed skater, male or female, of all time,. Pechstein is the most successful German Winter Olympian of all time. After the World Championships in Norway in February 2009, Pechstein was accused of blood doping and banned from all competitions for two years.
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federations entered a total of 1,978 athletes, the greatest number of competitors at any World Championships to date. Sarah Brightman, the world's best-selling soprano, performed her single Running at the opening ceremony.
Marta Domínguez Azpeleta is a Spanish former runner and politician. She competes mainly in the steeplechase. She has represented Spain four times at the Olympics and has competed at the World Championships on six occasions.
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010. Barcelona was the first Spanish city to host the European Championships.
Cyprus has sent athletes to every Olympic Games held since 1980. Cyprus earned its first Olympic medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics when Pavlos Kontides earned a silver medal in the men's laser sailing event. They had a near miss at the 2008 Olympics when Antonis Nikolaidis lost the bronze medal shoot-off in men's skeet. The first modern Olympian from Cyprus was actually Anastasios Andreou in 1896, who competed under the Greek flag. At this time, Cyprus was a British colony.
Anna Aleksandrovna Alminova is a Russian middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. She was the European indoor champion in the 1500 m in 2009, but lost the title when she was found to have been doping.
Nevin Yanıt is a Turkish former sprinter specializing in high hurdling.
An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by noting variances from an athlete's established levels outside permissible limits, rather than testing for and identifying illegal substances.
Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a Russian former disgraced middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
The women's marathon at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held on the streets of Barcelona on 31 July. The event doubled as the European Team Marathon Cup 2010.
The women's 1500 metres competition was an event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The competition was held at the Olympic Stadium from 6–10 August. The top two finishers were later found to have used prohibited drugs during this period, and subsequently disqualified. The current silver medalist, Tatyana Tomashova, had served a two-year doping ban (2008–2010) for manipulating samples and was banned after the Olympics for failing another drug test; and the 7th-place finisher Natallia Kareiva and the 9th-place finisher Yekaterina Kostetskaya were later disqualified after being found guilty of doping.
Svitlana Volodymyrivna Shmidt is a Ukrainian runner who specializes in the middle-distance events.
Bahar Doğan is a Turkish female long-distance runner, who is specialized in marathon running. She is coached by Ertan Hatipoğlu at Üsküdar Belediyespor. The 156 cm tall athlete at 48 kg (106 lb) is a student of physical education and sports at Kocaeli University.
Semiha Mutlu is a Turkish female racewalker.
Gamze Bulut is a Turkish middle-distance runner.
An international embargo against Northern Cyprus is currently in place in several areas. The embargo is supported by the policy of the United Nations and its application by the European Union is in line with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision taken in 1994.
The 1500 metres at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. It is the second most prestigious title in the discipline after the 1500 metres at the Olympics. The competition format typically has two qualifying rounds leading to a final between twelve athletes. It is one of two middle-distance running events on the programme, alongside the World Championship 800 metres.
The 5000 metres at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by men since the inaugural edition in 1983 and by women since 1995. Women competed over 3000 metres from 1980 to 1993, in line with championship standards of the time. It is the shortest long-distance running event at the competition, the 10,000 metres and marathon being the other two such events on the programme. It is the second most prestigious title in the discipline after the 5000 metres at the Olympics. The competition format typically has a two-race heats stage that leads directly to a final between fifteen athletes.
Turkey 
