Letitia Vriesde

Letitia Vriesde
Personal information
Born (1964-10-05) 5 October 1964
Coronie, Suriname
Height 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight 55 kg (121 lb)

Letitia Alma Vriesde (born 5 October 1964) is a female former track and field athlete from Suriname, who specialised in the 800 m but was also successful over 1500 m. She is the first (and as of 2015, only) sportsperson from Suriname 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(1:58.29) 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 said to have the equivalent of 5 gallons of coffee in her system, a PASO official said, and admitted her guilt. She was not banned however and went on to compete at that year's World Championships.

Drinking too much coffee or taking a common cold tablet would no longer get athletes disqualified. A new global list of banned substances was drawn up by the World Anti-Doping Agency, following more than two years of research, analysis and debate. Experts now had drawn up an all-encompassing list of prohibited steroids, stimulants, blood-boosters, narcotics and other drugs. On January 1, 2004 it was applied to all sports and all countries covered by WADA's global anti-doping code.

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.

She ended her career though. In Paramaribo a street formerly known as Cultuurtuinlaan was changed into Letitia Vriesdelaan. The Surinamese Government also gave her a piece of land as an appreciation.

She married Bas van Veen on 9 September 2005 in Middelburg, Holland. Her daughter Joi Vienna was born on 19 March 2007.

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)

IAAF ALL TIME BEST #58(as of 2015)

1:56.68 Letitia VRIESDE

5 OCT 1964 SUR 2 Göteborg (Ullevi Stadium) 13 AUG 1995

http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/middlelong/800-metres/outdoor/women/senior http://www.alltime-athletics.com/w_800ok.htm

Letitia’s Top 10 800m performances

http://www.surathletics.com/SurAthletics/Letitia%20Vriesde.html

World Rankings

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/04-w800rank1.pdf

Women’s 800

Women’s 1500

Women’s 400m

Best Women’s Non-Qualifying Marks

compiled by Jim Rorick, as of August 4, 2014 http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/13-lists/989-best-womens-non-qualifying-marks

800m 1:58.28 Letitia Vriesde (Surinam) Olympic Games 1992

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.

Summer Olympics

Results Glossary


Results and Palmares

Please note, results and palmares of Letitia Vriesde are based on data from The-Sports.org and may be incomplete.

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Suriname
1988 Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 8th (semis) 800 m 2:02.34
1990 Central American and Caribbean Games Mexico City, Mexico 2nd 800 m 2:04.87 A
1st 1500 m 4:26.28 A
South American Games Lima, Peru 1st 800 m 2:06.2
1st 1500 m 4:23.0
1991 Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 2nd 1500 m 4:16.75
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 5th 800 m 1:58.25
8th 1500 m 4:09.67
1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain 5th (semis) 800 m 1:58.28
8th 1500 m 4:09.64
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 800 m DNS
1994 South American Games Valencia, Venezuela 2nd 800 m 2:06.2
2nd 1500 m 4:23.0
1995 World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 3rd 800 m 2:00.36
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 2nd 800 m 1:56.68
Pan American Games Mar del Plata, Argentina 2nd 800 m 2:02.25
1998 World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd 800 m 2:00.56
Central American and Caribbean Games Maracaibo, Venezuela 1st 800 m 2:00.24
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 3rd 800 m 1:57.35
South American Championships Manaus, Brazil 2nd 800 m 2:00.93
1st 1500 m 4:19.97
2002 Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador, El Salvador 1st 800 m 2:04.50
2003 Pan American Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1st 800 m 2:02.92 DSQ

See also

References

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
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