Mercedes Chilla López (born January 19, 1980, inJerez de la Frontera,Cádiz) is ajavelin thrower fromSpain. She has represented Spain at twoSummer Olympics (2004 and 2008) and has also competed at theWorld Championships in Athletics. Chilla is theSpanish record holder for the event, with a best mark of 64.07 metres, and has won medals at theMediterranean Games and theIbero-American Championships.
She first reached the international podium at the2003 Summer Universiade, where she took thebronze medal. She attended her first Olympic competition at the2004 Athens Games and she was 22nd overall. In 2005, she enjoyed success at the regional level with another javelin bronze at the2005 Mediterranean Games and she improved on her previous global competition performance with a fifteenth-place finish at the2005 World Championships in Athletics.
Her 2006 season saw her gain a slew ofEuropean honours, starting with a bronze at the2006 European Cup Winter Throwing and another third-place finish at the2006 European Cup. She completed a trio of bronze medal performances by reaching the podium at the2006 European Athletics Championships. She capped off a successful season with a personal best andSpanish record throw of 63.20 metres at theHerculis meeting in August 2006.
She suffered a number of injuries between 2008 and 2010, interrupting her international career, but she still managed ninth place at the2008 Beijing Olympics and eleventh place at the2009 World Championships in Athletics. She took the javelin gold at the2010 Ibero-American Championships in Cádiz, nearing her top form with a winning throw of 62.39 m.[1] Chilla improved her Spanish record the following week, throwing 64.07 m to win at theLiga de Clubes de División de Honor meeting inValencia, Spain.[2] This mark made her fifth in the world rankings and demonstrated her potential to return to the podium at the2010 European Athletics Championships.[3]