Doina Melinte
Melinte winning the 800 m final at the 1984 Olympics
Personal information
Born27 December 1956 (1956-12-27) (age 67)
Hudești, Romania[1]
Height171 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)800 m, 1500 m
Coached byIoan Zanca
Dorin Melinte (husband)[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m – 1:55.05 (1982)
1500 m – 3:56.7 (1986)[3]
Medal record
Representing  Romania
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1984 Los Angeles 1500 m
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place1987 Rome1500 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place1987 Indianapolis1500 m
Gold medal – first place1989 Budapest1500 m
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place1986 Stuttgart1500 m
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place1985 Piraeus1500 m
Gold medal – first place1988 Budapest1500 m
Gold medal – first place1990 Glasgow1500 m
Silver medal – second place1984 Gothenburg800 m
Bronze medal – third place1992 Genoa1500 m
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1981 Bucharest 800 m

Doina Ofelia Melinte (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdojna meˈlinte]; née Beșliu on 27 December 1956[3]) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres in 1984. She won the world indoor title in 1987 and 1989 and the European indoor title in 1985, 1988 and 1990 in the 1,500 m.[3] Her world indoor mile record of 4:17.41 in 1990, stood for 26 years.

Career

Melinte competed as Doina Beșliu at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and reached the semi-finals of the 800 metres.[1] In 1982, now competing as Doina Melinte, she was the fastest woman in the world at 800 metres but only finished sixth in the final of that year's European Championships in Athens. She also finished sixth in both the 800 m and 1,500 m at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki.[3]

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 800 metres ahead of Kim Gallagher of the US and countrywoman Fiţa Lovin, and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres behind Gabriella Dorio of Italy and ahead of fellow Romanian, Maricica Puică.[1] She won a 1,500 m bronze medal at the 1986 European Championships, behind the Soviet pair of Ravilya Agletdinova and Tatyana Samolenko. In March 1987, she won the 1,500 m at the World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, ahead of Samolenko. In September of that year, she won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Rome. She originally finished fourth but was promoted one position after the disqualification of the original bronze medal winner Sandra Gasser.

At her third Olympic Games in Seoul 1988, she finished a disappointing ninth in the 1500 m final won by her team-mate Paula Ivan. In 1989, she defended her 1500 m World Indoor title in Budapest, winning in a championship record of 4:04.79. In February 1990, she broke the world indoor mile record with 4:17.14 in East Rutherford. The record stood for 26 years until Genzebe Dibaba ran 4:13.31 in 2016. A month later, she won her third European Indoor title over 1500 m in Glasgow. A medal favourite for the 1990 European Championships in Split, she could only finish sixth in the 1500 m final. In 1991, she was fourth in the 1500 m finals at both the World Indoor Championships in Seville and the World Championships in Tokyo.

Melinte concluded her international career at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she dropped out of the 1500 m final.[1][2]

Personal life

Melinte first wanted to be a gymnast or a ballerina, but did not have adequate conditions for training. She then played handball before changing to athletics. Around 1980–82 she married her coach Dorin Melinte, and after retiring from competitions in 1992 became a coach herself. In 2010–2012 she served as director of the National Agency for Youth and Sports (Autoritatea Naţională pentru Sport şi Tineret) and later became vice president of the national anti-doping agency.[2]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Romania
1980 Olympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 13th (sf) 800 m 2:00.8
1981 Universiade Bucharest, Romania 1st 800 m 1:57.81
1982 European Championships Athens, Greece 6th 800 m 1:59.65
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 6th 800 m 2:00.13
6th 1500 m 4:04.42
1984 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 2nd 800 m 1:59.81
Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 1st 800 m 1:57.60
2nd 1500 m 4:03.76
1985 European Indoor Championships Piraeus, Greece 1st 1500 m 4:02.54
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, Germany 3rd 1500 m 4:02.44
DNF (heats) 3000 m —
1987 World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 1st 1500 m 4:05.68
World Championships Rome, Italy 3rd 1500 m 3:59.27
1988 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 1500 m 4:05.77
Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 9th 1500 m 4:02.89
1989 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 1500 m 4:04.79
World Cup Barcelona, Spain 3rd 800 m 1:56.65
1990 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st 1500 m 4:09.73
European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 6th 1500 m 4:10.91
1991 World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 4th 1500 m 4:06.65
World Championshipas Tokyo, Japan 4th 1500 m 4:03.19
1992 European Indoor Championships Genoa, Italy 3rd 1500 m 4:06.90
Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain DNF (final) 1500 m 4:04.42
(semifinals)
(sf) indicates overall position in semifinal round (dnf) = did not finish

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Doina Melinte.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Doina Beşliu-Melinte". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Doina Melinte. Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (in Romanian)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Doina Melinte at World Athletics
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