Maurren Higa Maggi

Maurren Higa Maggi

Maurren Higa Maggi (born June 25, 1976 in São Carlos ) is a Brazilian long jumper and Olympic champion .

Initially, she was also active in the 100-meter hurdles . In 1997 she became the South American long jump champion and runner-up in the 100 meter hurdles. In 1999 she won the South American title in both disciplines, in the long jump with the current South American record of 7.26 m. In the same year she won gold in the long jump and silver in the 100 meter hurdles at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg . At the World Championships in Seville , she was eighth in the long jump and reached the quarter-finals over 100 meter hurdles. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney she had to give up when she was injured in the long jump qualification.

In 2001 she set the current continental record for the 100 meter hurdles of 12.71 s at the South American Championships. She also defended her title in the long jump. At the 2001 Universiade she won gold in the long jump and silver in the 100-meter hurdles.

In 2002, like in 2000, she was Ibero-American champion in the long jump. At the World Indoor Championships 2003 in Birmingham she won bronze, and on April 27, 2003 she set a South American record in the triple jump with 14.53 m .

In June, the anabolic steroid Clostebol was discovered during a doping test and a two-year ban was imposed on her for violating doping guidelines . The athlete appealed against the decision, claiming that the banned substance was in a cream that she used after hair removal. The Brazilian supreme sports court agreed with her; after the IAAF appealed to the International Sports Court, Maggi gave up. In the meantime she had married the Formula 1 racing driver Antonio Pizzonia and had become pregnant. In December 2004 she gave birth to a daughter.

After the suspension expired, she took part in competitions again from 2006. In 2007 she was again South American champion and gold medalist in the long jump at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro . At the World Championships in Osaka , she was sixth. At the World Indoor Championships in Valencia in 2008 she won silver and set the current South American indoor record with 6.89 m.

At the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 , she won the gold medal with 7.04 m, one centimeter ahead of Tatiana Lebedewa (RUS).

Maurren Higa Maggi is 1.73 m tall and weighs 62 kg. She lives in São Paulo and starts for the Clube de Atletismo BM&F.

Web links

• Maurren Maggi in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Portrait at IAAF - Focus on Athletes ( Memento from August 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), March 5, 2008

Footnotes

1. ↑ BBC News : Maggi acquittal challenged . March 22, 2004
2. ↑ The Guardian : Olympics: Johnson angry after Brazilian with drugs past wins long-jump gold . August 23, 2008