Iulia Olteanu
Encyclopedia
Iulia Olteanu is a Romania
n former long-distance runner who competed in cross country
, track
and road running
events.
She made her breakthrough on the international scene with consecutive wins at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships in 1990 and 1991. She helped Romania to a number of team medals at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
and IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, and also ran in the 10,000 metres at two editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics
as well as the 1996 Summer Olympics
.
Olteanu was the silver medal
list at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
, setting a lifetime best of 1:09:15. She was victorious at the 1996 European Cross Country Championships
but was stripped of her title as she had failed a test for the steroid stanozolol
and received a two-year competitive ban for doping. After her ban had expired, she was again selected for the Romanian cross country and half marathon teams, but failed to medal. She competed in her first marathon
in 2002 but retired from international competition in 2003.
Among her other achievements are two consecutive 10,000 m titles at the Summer Universiade, as well as circuit wins at the Great South Run
, Sapporo Half Marathon
and the Chiba
and Fukuoka Cross Country
meetings.
, Romania, she made her debut at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
in 1987, coming in 50th place. She made her breakthrough three years later with a twelfth place finish at the 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, followed by a win at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. She took a road win at the Foulées de Suresnes over 10 km in October. She made her global track debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
in Tokyo
where she was 17th over 10,000 metres. She also managed three national titles over that distance in her career. She took a second world title over 15 km at the 1991 Women's Road Championships.
and also ran at the newly inaugurated IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
, where she was tenth overall. Among her appearances on the circuit that year was a win over 10 miles at the Great South Run
in Portsmouth
. She won the race for a second time the next year and improved upon her previous position at the 1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
, finishing the race in seventh to help Romania to the women's team title with Elena Murgoci
and Anuţa Cătună
. She represented Romania in the 10,000 m at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics
, coming sixteenth.
She was first at the 1994 Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale
and set a course record of 1:10:32. Olteanu ran a personal best of 1:09:15 for the half marathon event at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
to take the silver medal
behind Elana Meyer
, as well as leading the Romanian women to a second consecutive team title. At the 20 Kilomètres de Paris
in October she won in a time of 1:08:04. She was studying at university during this period and as a student she won the Summer Universiade titles in the 10,000 m in 1993 and 1995, as well a gold medal
at the 1994 FISU Cross Country Championships.
She was 29th in the long race at the 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, sharing in the team bronze medal
, while her eleventh place finish at the 1995 European Cross Country Championships
brought Romania the team silver medals at that event. Olteanu ran at the 1995 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
but did not manage to finish the race on that occasion. At the beginning of 1996 she won the Chiba International Cross Country
in Japan. She took twelfth place at the 1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, helping Romania to another team bronze, and made her Olympic debut on the track in August. Setting a career best mark of 31:26.46 minutes, she came eighth in the women's 10,000 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
.
at the 1996 European Cross Country Championships
. However, her performance did not stand as she had failed an out-of-competition drug test in early December, two weeks before the event. She received a four-year ban from competition for her use of stanozolol
(a performance-enhancing steroid. Her ban came at a time when numerous Romanian athletes were punished for doping infractions, marking a determined effort by Iolanda Balaş
, the president of the Romanian Athletics Federation
(FRA), to clean up the national athletics scene. In spite of this, the FRA opted to give Olteanu a two-year ban for her failed test, superseding the longer four-year ban set in place by the International Association of Athletics Federations
. She became eligible for competition again in December 1998.
and helped Romania to the team silver alongside Constantina Diţă. Her efforts were principally focused on cross country over this period: she won the Fukuoka International Cross Country
in 2000 and ran in both the long and short races at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, finishing 46th in the long race and 21st over the shorter distance. The following year she won both the Chiba and Fukuoka races in Japan at the beginning of 2001, going on to place fifteenth in the short race at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. After taking the national title in the half marathon, she ran at that year's World Half Marathon Championships
and came 22nd in the rankings. She also competed on the Japanese road circuit in 2001 and was third at both the Sapporo Half Marathon
and Kyoto Half Marathon.
Olteanu decided to make a change up to the marathon
distance in 2002 and she finished the Vienna City Marathon in a time of 2:40:14 hours, placing sixth. The 2003 season saw her final year of international competition: despite a win at the national half marathon championships, she failed to finish the race at the World Championships that year.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n former long-distance runner who competed in cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
events.
She made her breakthrough on the international scene with consecutive wins at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships in 1990 and 1991. She helped Romania to a number of team medals at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is an annual half marathon competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was contested from 1992 to 2005, and replaced by the IAAF World Road Running Championships, a 20 kilometres race which had its inaugural...
and IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
, and also ran in the 10,000 metres at two editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
as well as the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
.
Olteanu was the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
list at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 3rd IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 24, 1994 in Oslo, Norway. A total of 215 athletes, 127 men and 88 women, from 47 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:-External links:*...
, setting a lifetime best of 1:09:15. She was victorious at the 1996 European Cross Country Championships
1996 European Cross Country Championships
The 3rd European Cross Country Championships were held at Charleroi in Belgium on 15 December 1996. Jon Brown took the title in the men's competition and Sara Wedlund won the women's race.-Men individual 9.65km:100 runners finished.-Men teams:...
but was stripped of her title as she had failed a test for the steroid stanozolol
Stanozolol
Stanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol , Tenabol and Winstrol Depot , was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962...
and received a two-year competitive ban for doping. After her ban had expired, she was again selected for the Romanian cross country and half marathon teams, but failed to medal. She competed in her first marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
in 2002 but retired from international competition in 2003.
Among her other achievements are two consecutive 10,000 m titles at the Summer Universiade, as well as circuit wins at the Great South Run
Great South Run
The Bupa Great South Run is an annual 10 miles road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Launched in 1990, it is part of the Great Run series created by former British athlete Brendan Foster...
, Sapporo Half Marathon
Sapporo Half Marathon
The ' is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which takes place in July in Sapporo, Japan.First held in 1958, the race began as a full marathon competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. This lasted until 1973, as it was replaced with a...
and the Chiba
Chiba International Cross Country
The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships....
and Fukuoka Cross Country
Fukuoka International Cross Country
The Fukuoka International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Fukuoka, Japan in either late February or Early March...
meetings.
Early career
Born Iulia Negură in Piatra NeamţPiatra Neamt
Piatra Neamț , , ; is the capital city of Neamţ County, in the historical region of Moldavia, eastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Eastern Carpathian mountains, it is considered one of the most picturesque cities in Romania...
, Romania, she made her debut at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
in 1987, coming in 50th place. She made her breakthrough three years later with a twelfth place finish at the 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 18th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 24, 1990 in Aix-les-Bains, France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
, followed by a win at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. She took a road win at the Foulées de Suresnes over 10 km in October. She made her global track debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
where she was 17th over 10,000 metres. She also managed three national titles over that distance in her career. She took a second world title over 15 km at the 1991 Women's Road Championships.
World and Olympic competition
In 1992 she reached the top twenty at the 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 20th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 21, 1992 in Boston, United States.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
and also ran at the newly inaugurated IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1992 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 1st IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 19 and 20, 2001 in Tyneside, UK, and was run simultaneously with that year's Great North Run. A total of 204 athletes, 97 men, 83 women and 24 juniors, from 36 countries took part....
, where she was tenth overall. Among her appearances on the circuit that year was a win over 10 miles at the Great South Run
Great South Run
The Bupa Great South Run is an annual 10 miles road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Launched in 1990, it is part of the Great Run series created by former British athlete Brendan Foster...
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
. She won the race for a second time the next year and improved upon her previous position at the 1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 2nd IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 3, 1993 in Brussels, Belgium. A total of 254 athletes, 133 men, 86 women and 35 juniors, from 49 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
, finishing the race in seventh to help Romania to the women's team title with Elena Murgoci
Elena Murgoci
Elena Murgoci-Florea was a female long-distance runner from Romania, who specialized in the marathon race....
and Anuţa Cătună
Anuta Catuna
Anuţa Cătună is a former female long-distance runner from Romania, who represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. She won the 1996 edition of the New York City Marathon.-Achievements:-References:* *...
. She represented Romania in the 10,000 m at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
, coming sixteenth.
She was first at the 1994 Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale
Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale
The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. First organised by the SCO Sainte-Marguerite sports club in 1979, the event has grown into a large international competition, with...
and set a course record of 1:10:32. Olteanu ran a personal best of 1:09:15 for the half marathon event at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 3rd IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 24, 1994 in Oslo, Norway. A total of 215 athletes, 127 men and 88 women, from 47 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:-External links:*...
to take the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
behind Elana Meyer
Elana Meyer
Elana Meyer is a former long-distance runner from South Africa, who won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 metre event....
, as well as leading the Romanian women to a second consecutive team title. At the 20 Kilomètres de Paris
20 Kilomètres de Paris
The 20 Kilomètres de Paris is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometres which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October...
in October she won in a time of 1:08:04. She was studying at university during this period and as a student she won the Summer Universiade titles in the 10,000 m in 1993 and 1995, as well a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
at the 1994 FISU Cross Country Championships.
She was 29th in the long race at the 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 23rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on 25 March 1995 in Durham, England.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
, sharing in the team bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
, while her eleventh place finish at the 1995 European Cross Country Championships
1995 European Cross Country Championships
The 2nd European Cross Country Championships were held at Alnwick in England on 2 December 1995. Paulo Guerra took his second title in the men's competition and Annemari Sandell won the women's race.-Men individual 9km:103 runners finished.-Men teams:...
brought Romania the team silver medals at that event. Olteanu ran at the 1995 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
1995 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 4th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 1, 1995 in Montbéliard–Belfort, France. A total of 243 athletes, 147 men and 96 women, from 54 countries took part.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:-External links:...
but did not manage to finish the race on that occasion. At the beginning of 1996 she won the Chiba International Cross Country
Chiba International Cross Country
The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships....
in Japan. She took twelfth place at the 1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 24th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on 23 March 1996 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :...
, helping Romania to another team bronze, and made her Olympic debut on the track in August. Setting a career best mark of 31:26.46 minutes, she came eighth in the women's 10,000 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics
At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...
.
Stripped title and doping ban
Olteanu ended the year with her first win at a major continental competition, taking the gold medalGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
at the 1996 European Cross Country Championships
1996 European Cross Country Championships
The 3rd European Cross Country Championships were held at Charleroi in Belgium on 15 December 1996. Jon Brown took the title in the men's competition and Sara Wedlund won the women's race.-Men individual 9.65km:100 runners finished.-Men teams:...
. However, her performance did not stand as she had failed an out-of-competition drug test in early December, two weeks before the event. She received a four-year ban from competition for her use of stanozolol
Stanozolol
Stanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol , Tenabol and Winstrol Depot , was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962...
(a performance-enhancing steroid. Her ban came at a time when numerous Romanian athletes were punished for doping infractions, marking a determined effort by Iolanda Balaş
Iolanda Balas
Iolanda Balaş is a former Romanian athlete of Hungarian descent, Olympic champion and world record holder in high jump, who is considered one of the greatest high jumpers ever.-Early life:...
, the president of the Romanian Athletics Federation
Romanian Athletics Federation
The Romanian Athletics Federation is the Romanian national sporting authority which coordinates athletics activity.- History :Athletics first appeared in Romania at the end of the 19th century...
(FRA), to clean up the national athletics scene. In spite of this, the FRA opted to give Olteanu a two-year ban for her failed test, superseding the longer four-year ban set in place by the International Association of Athletics Federations
International Association of Athletics Federations
The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...
. She became eligible for competition again in December 1998.
Later career
She made her international return at the 1999 European Cross Country Championships1999 European Cross Country Championships
The 6th European Cross Country Championships were held at Velenje in Slovenia on 12 December 1999. Paulo Guerra took his third title in the men's competition and Anita Weyermann won the women's race.-Men individual:79 runners finished-Men teams:...
and helped Romania to the team silver alongside Constantina Diţă. Her efforts were principally focused on cross country over this period: she won the Fukuoka International Cross Country
Fukuoka International Cross Country
The Fukuoka International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Fukuoka, Japan in either late February or Early March...
in 2000 and ran in both the long and short races at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
, finishing 46th in the long race and 21st over the shorter distance. The following year she won both the Chiba and Fukuoka races in Japan at the beginning of 2001, going on to place fifteenth in the short race at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 29th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 24–25 March 2001 in Ostend, Belgium.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
. After taking the national title in the half marathon, she ran at that year's World Half Marathon Championships
2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 7, 2001 in the city of Bristol, UK, and was run simultaneously with that year's Bristol Half Marathon. A total of 200 athletes, 125 men and 75 women, from 52 countries took part.-Individual:...
and came 22nd in the rankings. She also competed on the Japanese road circuit in 2001 and was third at both the Sapporo Half Marathon
Sapporo Half Marathon
The ' is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which takes place in July in Sapporo, Japan.First held in 1958, the race began as a full marathon competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. This lasted until 1973, as it was replaced with a...
and Kyoto Half Marathon.
Olteanu decided to make a change up to the marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
distance in 2002 and she finished the Vienna City Marathon in a time of 2:40:14 hours, placing sixth. The 2003 season saw her final year of international competition: despite a win at the national half marathon championships, she failed to finish the race at the World Championships that year.
Personal bests
- 5000 metres5000 metresThe 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
- 15:06.73 mins (1999) - 10,000 metres - 31:26.46 mins (1996)
- Half marathonHalf marathonA half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
- 1:09:15 hrs (1994) - MarathonMarathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
- 2:40:14 hrs (2002)
- All information from IAAF Profile