Rose Mary Almanza Blanco (born 13 July 1992) is a Cuban middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. She represented Cuba at the Pan American Games in 2011, 2015, 2019 and won medals at the Ibero-American and Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics.She was world champion in the 4x400 meter relay in Silesia 2021
 Rose Mary Almanza in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rose Mary Almanza Blanco | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 13, 1992 Camagüey, Cuba[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 55 kg (121 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Cuba | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Middle-distance running | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
Almanza ran internationally from a young age, coming fourth at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics before taking the 800 m title at the Pan American Junior Championships.[3][4] She won at the Barrientos Memorial in March 2010 and followed this with a personal best of 2:03.03 to take the silver medal at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics.[5][6] She ran a national junior record of 2:02.04 in Havana in July and came fourth at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[4]
In 2011, she improved her record further to 2:00.56 and won her first senior regional medal at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, placing second in the 800 m behind Gabriela Medina.[7] She came close to a medal at the 2011 Pan American Games, but was edged into fourth place in the final.[8]
She began 2012 in strong form, taking silver medals in the 800 m and 4×400 metres relay at the Ibero-American Championships.[9][10] A run of 1:59.55 in Havana was enough to gain her a place on the Cuban squad for the 2012 London Olympics.[4][11]
Almanza continued to perform at a high level in subsequent years. She set a 1:57.70 personal best in 2015, participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the 800m title in the 2017 Summer Universiade.
By June 2021, Almanza had returned to career-best form in the 800m, running another personal best and world-leading time of 1:56.42 in Ordizia, Spain.[12]
Personal bests
| Event | Result | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 m | 1:56.28 |  Stockholm | 4 July 2021 |
| 800 m indoor | 2:04.18 |  Eaubonne | 9 February 2016 |
| 1500 m | 4:14.53 | La Habana | 9 Oct 2014 |
International competitions
References
External links
- Rose Mary Almanza at World Athletics
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rose Mary Almanza". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
