Constantina Diță (married Constantina Diță-Tomescu[1] born on 23 January 1970, in Turburea, Gorj County), is a Romanian long-distance runner, who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She was the marathon gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, having previously won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She also represented her country at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004. She was named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year in 2008.[2]
 Constantina Diță in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Romania |
| Born | January 23, 1970 |
| 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 | |
Diță has a marathon best of 2:21:30 hours. She was the champion at the 2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships – the first Romanian to win that honour. She was the 2004 Chicago Marathon winner.
Career
editAs a child, Diță became interested in athletics and particularly admired Maricica Puică after seeing her win the 3000 metres gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[3] Diță had her first successes at the 1999 European Cross Country Championships at which she won silver medals in the individual race and the team race with Romania. She began competing in the marathon and was tenth at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.[4] She ran in the Olympic marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (finishing twentieth) and went on to win the Chicago Marathon later that year, running a personal best of 2:21:30.
After winning the marathon bronze at the 2005 World Championships she became the World Half Marathon Champion. She won a silver medal at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships and reached the podium of the 2007 London Marathon, taking third place.
Diță won the women's marathon at the 2008 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 in Boulder, Colorado, and was married to her coach, Valeriu Tomescu, until they divorced in 2008.[5][6][7]
Diță ran a marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics and finished in 86th place.[8]
Personal bests
edit- 5000 metres – 15:28.91 min (2000)
- 10,000 metres – 31:49.47 min (2006)
- Half marathon – 1:08:07 hrs (2006)
- Marathon – 2:21:30 hrs (2005)
International competitions
editMarathons
edit| 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 |
Awards
edit- Romanian sportsperson of the year: 2008
- BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year: 2008[2]
- AIMS Best Marathon Runner Award: 2008
- National Sports Award: 2009
References
edit- ↑ Constantina Diţă Archived 7 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. worldmarathonmajors. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
- 1 2 Dimitar Veliov (17 January 2025). "Всички победители в анкетата на БТА "Спортист на Балканите"". www.bta.bg. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ Dita admires Maricica Puica Archived 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Spikes Magazine.
- ↑ "Women's marathon". 2001 World Championships in Athletics. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ↑ (17 August 2008). Marathon Drama Left for Silver as Romanian Runs Away With Gold The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
- ↑ (16 August 2008) Tomescu improving with age like fine wine Reuters. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ (17 August 2008). Romanian runs away with marathon Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ Constantina Diţă-Tomescu. sports-reference.com.
External links
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