Alina Astafei (known before 1995 as Galina Astafei; born 7 June 1969) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who attained

citizenship in 1995. She was one of the world's leading

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

ers in the 1990s. Representing Romania, she became the 1992 Olympic silver medallist, while representing Germany, she won a silver medal at the 1995 World Championship and the 1995 world indoor title.

Career

Astafei won the 1987 European Junior title and cleared 2.00 metres to win the 1988 World Junior title. At the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, she finished equal fifth in the final with 1.93 metres. Her biggest success for her native Romania was when winning the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the 1992 Olympic Games in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where she cleared 2.00 m. On 9 January 1995, Astafei left the Romania track and field association and attained German citizenship on 1 March 1995. She won the 1995 World indoor title in

with a clearance of 2.01 m, before going on to clear 1.99 m to win the silver medal at the 1995 World Championships in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, behind

Stefka Kostadinova Stefka Georgieva Kostadinova ( bg, Стефка Георгиева Костадинова; born March 25, 1965) is a Bulgarian retired athlete who competed in the high jump. Her world record of 2.09 metres has stood since 1987. She was the 1996 ...

. At her third Olympic Games in 1996, she finished equal fifth with 1.96 m. Her outdoor personal best of 2.01 metres was set in 1995, while she set her indoor best of 2.04 m, earlier the same year. She became German champion in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2001 as well as German indoor champion in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. She represented the clubs

USC Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

and

MTG Mannheim Mtg is as an abbreviation for the words "meeting" and "mortgage". MTG may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Mağusa Türk Gücü S.K., a Turkish Cypriot sports club * Maria-Theresia-Gymnasium, a Munich school for gifted students * Me ...

Achievements

In the list the results until 1994 for Romania. * 1986, Junior World championship: 2nd place (1.90 m) * 1987, Junior European championship: 1st place (1.88 m) * 1988,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

: 5th place (1.93m); Junior World championship: 1st place (2.00 m) * 1989, World Cup final: 3rd place (1.94 m); Europa Cup final: 1st place (2.00 m) * 1992, Olympic Games: 2nd place (2.00 m); World Cup final: 2nd place (1.91 m) * 1993, World championship: 4th place (1.94 m); Europa Cup final: 1st place (2.00 m) * 1995, World championship: 2nd place (1.99 m); Europa Cup final: 1st place (2.00 m) * 1996,

: 5th place (1.96m); Europa Cup final: 1st place (1.98 m) * 1997, World championship: 3rd place (1.95 m) * 1998, European championship: 3rd place (1.95 m); World Cup final: 6th place (1.90 m); Europa Cup final: 2nd place (1.95 m) * 2001, Europa Cup final: 1st place (1.89 m)

Personal life

Astafei’s father is the former Romanian

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

Petre Astafei Sr. Her brother Petre Jr. was a rugby player; he died aged 22 during the 1989 Romanian Revolution. Astafei was married to the Romanian national volleyball player Alin Stavariu, but they divorced before 1995. On 1 March 1995 she obtained German citizenship and later changed her name from Galina to Alina. In Germany she married high jumper

Wolfgang Kreißig Wolfgang Kreißig (born 29 August 1970 in Gehrden, West Germany) is a retired German track and field athlete who specialised in the high jump. He was a finalist at both 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, finishing ninth and eighth respectively. His b ...

. She has four children, three with Kreißig and one from the previous marriage.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astafei, Alina 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Bucharest Romanian female high jumpers Romanian emigrants to Germany German female high jumpers German people of Romanian descent Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Romania Olympic silver medalists for Romania Olympic athletes of Germany World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Romania USC Mainz athletes MTG Mannheim athletes World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade

Career

Achievements

Personal life

See also

References

External links