Listen To The Star - Gabriela Szabo
mp3-Flash-Interviews by Ed Gordon
Gabriela Szabo (Photo: Kiefner)
Today:GABRIELA SZABO (ROM)
1500 metres, 5000 metres
Born: 14 November 1975 in Bistriþa
Residence: Bucharest
Szabo won the 1500-metre world title in Edmonton last summer after taking the gold medal in the 5000 metres in both 1997 and 1999.
She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000, and also won a bronze medal in the 1500 in Sydney. At the Atlanta Games, she was the silver medallist in the 1500.
Indoors, she has been World Champion at 3000 metres three times (1995, 1997, and 1999), as she lost to Olga Yegorova in the Lisbon championships last year. Szabo currently has the world indoor record for the 5000 at 14:47.35.
Her personal bests are 3:56.97 from the 1998 Herculis meeting in Monaco (as seven other women ran under four minutes), and 14:31.48 three weeks later at the ISTAF competition in Berlin.
Szabo placed 2nd in the 1500 in Budapest four years ago, and 3rd in the 3000 eight years ago in Helsinki as an 18-year-old. She will be seeking her first gold medal in the European Championships in Munich.
For the first time in your career, you took an extended rest which began before the 2001 outdoor season was over, and continued through the indoor season. Has this been as beneficial as you had hoped?
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Could you compare the relative strengths of the fields in your events?
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