Laia Forcadell Arenas (born June 6, 1982 in Tortosa, Tarragona,

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

) is a female Spanish sprinter and hurdler. She won the gold medal for the 400 m hurdles at the

2006 Ibero-American Championships The 2006 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (''Spanish: XII Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was the twelfth edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations that place at the Francisco Montaner Sta ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, and bronze at the

2010 Ibero-American Championships The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''XIV Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total ...

San Fernando, Cádiz San Fernando (, "Saint Ferdinand") is a town in the province of Cádiz, Spain. It is home to more than 97,500 inhabitants. The city also uses the name "''La Isla''" (The Island). The people from San Fernando are locally known as "''Cañaíllas''" ...

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 ...

. Forcadell represented

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where she competed for the women's 400 m hurdles. She ran in the fourth heat against six other athletes, including Poland's

Anna Jesień Anna Marta Jesień, née Olichwierczuk (born 10 December 1978 in Kostki near Sokołów Podlaski) is a Polish former hurdler. She won the bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich. Four years later ...

and Czech Republic's

Zuzana Hejnová Zuzana Hejnová (; born 19 December 1986) is a retired Czech athlete who specialised in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2012 London Olympics. Hejnová is a two-time World Champion, having claimed titles at t ...

, who were both considered top medal contenders in this event. She finished the race in last place by eighty-eight hundredths of a second (0.88) behind Trinidad and Tobago's Josanne Lucas, with a time of 58.64 seconds. Forcadell failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed twenty-sixth overall, and was ranked farther below three mandatory slots for the next round. Forcadell is a member of ISS L'Hospitalet Track Club 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, being coached and trained by Armando Álvarez Anaya.

Competition record

References

External links

*
NBC 2008 Olympics profile
Spanish female hurdlers Living people Olympic athletes for Spain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Tortosa Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona 1982 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Spain Athletes from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish women {{Spain-athletics-bio-stub