Ileana Salvador

Ileana Salvador (born January 16, 1962 in Noale ) is a former Italian walker . The 1.63 m tall and in her competitive time 52 kg heavy Salvador won eight medals at international championships from 1989 to 1993, six of them in indoor walking.

Career

At the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 1989 in The Hague, she won over 3000 meters silver behind Beate Anders . At the World Indoor Championships in Budapest in 1989 , she was third behind the Australians Kerry Saxby and Anders; Saxby won with a new indoor world record. The following year, Salvador was again second behind Anders at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow and was just ahead of her compatriot Annarita Sidoti at the finish . At the European Athletics Championships in Split , Sidoti crossed the finish line over 10 km ahead of Olga Kardopolzewa , and Salvador won the bronze medal after 44:38 minutes.

At the World Indoor Championships in Seville in 1991 , Anders won ahead of Saxby. Third was like 1989 Ileana Salvador, who was seventh in 44:09 min at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in the summer.

In 1992, Alina Iwanowa won gold at the European Indoor Championships in Genoa , and Salvador won silver ahead of Anders. There was a particularly dramatic final at the Olympic Games in Barcelona . In the final round in the Olympic Stadium, the two Chinese women Chen Yueling and Li Chunxiu led by around 20 meters over Jelena Nikolajewa and Alina Iwanowa, who competed for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The chasers caught up quickly, however, and Ivanova in particular literally flew up to the Chinese. Ivanova finished in 44:23 minutes ahead of Chen in 44:32 minutes, Nikolajewa in 44:33 minutes, Salvador in 44:40 minutes and Li in 44:41 minutes. The judges had got the impression, however, that the chase some walkers were trying to catch up did not comply with the rules. Ivanova and Salvador were disqualified for lack of grip, and Chen was an Olympic champion.

Indoor walking was held for the last time at the World Indoor Championships in Toronto in 1993 . Nikolayeva won ahead of Saxby and Salvador. In the same year Salvador came closer than ever to a great victory at the World Championships in Stuttgart . In 43:08 min she was nine seconds behind the Finn Sari Essayah .

In total, Ileana Salvador won 15 Italian championship titles, nine of them outdoors. In the national jersey, she made 34 appearances.

Best times

• 3000 m walking: 11: 48.24 min, August 29, 1993, Padua (world best as of 2007)
• 5000 m walking: 20: 27.59 min, June 3, 1989, Trento
• 10,000 m walking: 42: 23.7 min, May 8, 1993, Bergen
• 10 km walking: 41:30 min, July 10, 1993, Livorno
• 20 km walking : 1:31:53 h, September 25, 1993, Baia Domizia

literature

• Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 1997. The international Track and Field Annual SportsBooks, Surbiton 1997, ISBN 1-899807-02-0 .

Web links

• Ileana Salvador in the database of World Athletics (English)