Ionela Târlea (during marriage Târlea-Manolache; born 9 February 1976) is a former track and field athlete, competing internationally for Romania . She won the silver medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics . At the same games in Athens , Greece, Târlea helped the Romanian national team to sixth place in the 4 × 400 m relay .
She gained recognition in top international competitions as early as 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics , when she came seventh in the 400 m hurdles event. In 1999 at the World Indoor Athletics Championships she won the gold medal in the 200 metres .
In 2000 in Sydney, Australia , Târlea earned her place again in the finals of the 400 m hurdles event, and came sixth. In 2002, she reaped gold at the European Championships held in Munich, also in the 400 m hurdles, her preferred event. A rather uneventful period followed for Târlea.:It was only in early 2008 that she secured her comeback among the world's top athletes as she came third in the 400 m event held in Stuttgart 's Sparkassen Cup . She retired in April 2009, due to long-term injuries.
At club level Târlea competed for Dinamo Bucharest , Fenerbahçe Istanbul and Sporting Portugal athletics.[1]
Achievements Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes Representing Romania 1992 World Junior Championships Seoul , South Korea 3rd 400m 52.13 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:31.57 1993 European Junior Championships San Sebastián, Spain 1st 400 m hurdles 56.43 1994 World Junior Championships Lisbon , Portugal 1st 400m hurdles 56.25 2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:36.59 European Championships Helsinki , Finland 17th (h) 400m hurdles 57.79 1995 European Junior Championships Nyíregyháza , Hungary1st 400 m hurdles 56.04 World University Games Fukuoka , Japan2nd 400 m hurdles 55.99 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 7th 400 m hurdles 54.40 1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 4th 400 m 52.06 1998 IAAF World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 4th 400 m hurdles 54.01 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 400 m hurdles 53.37 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 2nd 400 m 50.56 1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi , Japan1st 200 m 22.39 World University Games Palma de Mallorca, Spain 1st 400 m 49.88 2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 6th 400 m hurdles 54.35 2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 6th 400 m hurdles 55.36 Grand Prix Final Melbourne, Australia 6th 400 m hurdles 55.52 2002 European Championships Munich, Germany 1st 400 m hurdles 54.95 IAAF World Cup Madrid, Spain 4th 400 m hurdles 56.17 2003 World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 3rd 400 m hurdles 54.44 World Championships Paris, France 4th 400 m hurdles 54.41 2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 2nd 400 m hurdles 53.38 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 4th 400 m 51.58 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:30.06 World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th 400 m hurdles 55.79
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