Romanian athlete
Ionela Târlea (during marriage Târlea-Manolache; born 9 February 1976) is a former track and field athlete, competing internationally for Romania . She won the silver medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics . At the same games in Athens , Greece, Târlea helped the Romanian national team to sixth place in the 4 × 400 m relay .
She gained recognition in top international competitions as early as 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics , when she came seventh in the 400 m hurdles event. In 1999 at the World Indoor Athletics Championships she won the gold medal in the 200 metres .
In 2000 in Sydney, Australia , Târlea earned her place again in the finals of the 400 m hurdles event, and came sixth. In 2002, she reaped gold at the European Championships held in Munich, also in the 400 m hurdles, her preferred event. A rather uneventful period followed for Târlea.:It was only in early 2008 that she secured her comeback among the world's top athletes as she came third in the 400 m event held in Stuttgart 's Sparkassen Cup . She retired in April 2009, due to long-term injuries.
At club level Târlea competed for Dinamo Bucharest , Fenerbahçe Istanbul and Sporting Portugal athletics.[1]
Achievements
Year
Competition
Venue
Position
Event
Notes
Representing Romania
1992
World Junior Championships
Seoul , South Korea
3rd
400m
52.13
1st
4 × 400 m relay
3:31.57
1993
European Junior Championships
San Sebastián, Spain
1st
400 m hurdles
56.43
1994
World Junior Championships
Lisbon , Portugal
1st
400m hurdles
56.25
2nd
4 × 400 m relay
3:36.59
European Championships
Helsinki , Finland
17th (h)
400m hurdles
57.79
1995
European Junior Championships
Nyíregyháza , Hungary
1st
400 m hurdles
56.04
World University Games
Fukuoka , Japan
2nd
400 m hurdles
55.99
1996
Olympic Games
Atlanta, United States
7th
400 m hurdles
54.40
1997
World Indoor Championships
Paris, France
4th
400 m
52.06
1998
IAAF World Cup
Johannesburg, South Africa
4th
400 m hurdles
54.01
European Championships
Budapest, Hungary
1st
400 m hurdles
53.37
European Indoor Championships
Valencia, Spain
2nd
400 m
50.56
1999
World Indoor Championships
Maebashi , Japan
1st
200 m
22.39
World University Games
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1st
400 m
49.88
2000
Olympic Games
Sydney, Australia
6th
400 m hurdles
54.35
2001
World Championships
Edmonton, Canada
6th
400 m hurdles
55.36
Grand Prix Final
Melbourne, Australia
6th
400 m hurdles
55.52
2002
European Championships
Munich, Germany
1st
400 m hurdles
54.95
IAAF World Cup
Madrid, Spain
4th
400 m hurdles
56.17
2003
World Athletics Final
Monte Carlo, Monaco
3rd
400 m hurdles
54.44
World Championships
Paris, France
4th
400 m hurdles
54.41
2004
Olympic Games
Athens, Greece
2nd
400 m hurdles
53.38
World Indoor Championships
Budapest, Hungary
4th
400 m
51.58
3rd
4 × 400 m relay
3:30.06
World Athletics Final
Monte Carlo, Monaco
5th
400 m hurdles
55.79
References
External links