 Constantina Diță in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Romania |
| Born | (1970-01-23)January 23, 1970 (age 55) |
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 48 kg (106 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Long-distance running |
| Club | CS Pandurii Tg. Jiu |
Medal record | |
Constantina Diță (formerlyConstantina Diță-Tomescu[1] born on January 23, 1970, inTurburea,Gorj County), is aRomanianlong-distance runner, who specializes mainly in thehalf marathon andmarathon. She was the marathon gold medallist at the2008 Beijing Olympics, having previously won a bronze medal at the2005 World Championships in Athletics. She also represented her country at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004. She was named theBTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year in 2008.[2]
Diță has a marathon best of 2:21:30 hours. She was the champion at the2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships – the first Romanian to win that honour. She was the 2004Chicago Marathon winner.
As a child, Diță became interested inathletics and particularly admiredMaricica Puică after seeing her win the3000 metresgold at the1984 Summer Olympics.[3] Diță had her first successes at the1999 European Cross Country Championships at which she wonsilver medals in the individual race and the team race with Romania. She began competing in the marathon and was tenth at the2001 World Championships in Athletics.[4] She ran in the Olympic marathon at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens (finishing twentieth) and went on to win theChicago Marathon later that year, running a personal best of 2:21:30.
After winning the marathonbronze at the2005 World Championships she became theWorld Half Marathon Champion. She won a silver medal at the2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships and reached the podium of the 2007London Marathon, taking third place.
Diță won the women's marathon at the2008 Summer Olympics in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 44 seconds. At 38 years of age, she became the oldest Olympic marathon champion in history. Previously the oldest man to win an Olympic marathon was aged 37 and the oldest woman was aged 30. She lives and trains at altitude inBoulder, Colorado, and was married to her coach, Valeriu Tomescu, until they divorced in 2008.[5][6][7]
Diță ran a marathon at the2012 Summer Olympics and finished in 86th place.[8]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan | 4th | Marathon | 2:26:39 |
| 2004 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:21:30 PB |
| 2007 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | Marathon | 2:23.55 |
