Rose Mary Almanza Blanco (born 13 July 1992) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who competes in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. She represented Cuba at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

in 2011, 2015, 2019 and won medals at the

Ibero-American Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former territories of Portugal or Spain). P ...

and

Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships is an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC). Only athletes representing a member nation of the confeder ...

.She was world champion in the 4x400 meter relay in Silesia 2021

Career

Almanza ran internationally from a young age, coming fourth at the

2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the sixth edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held at Brixen-Bressanone Sport Arena in Bressanone, Italy from 8–12 July 2009. Athletes had to be aged 16 or 1 ...

before taking the 800 m title at the

Pan American Junior Championships The Pan American U20 Athletics Championships are a biennial sports event for track and field organized by the Association of Panamerican Athletics (APA) open for junior (U20) athletes from member and associate member associations. They were first h ...

.Almanza Rose Mary
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-18. She won at the

Barrientos Memorial The Barrientos Memorial ( es, Memorial José Barrientos) is an annual track and field meeting in Havana, Cuba each May. The event was first held in 1946, in recognition of José Barrientos (a former Cuban Olympic sprinter), who died in an aviation ...

in March 2010 and followed this with a personal best of 2:03.03 to take 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

2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics 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 ...

. She ran a national junior record of 2:02.04 in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in July and came fourth at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics ...

. 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 The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011. It was the fourth time P ...

, placing second in the 800 m behind Gabriela Medina. She came close to a medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, but was edged into fourth place in the final. She began 2012 in strong form, taking silver medals in the 800 m and

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

at the Ibero-American Championships. A run of 1:59.55 in Havana was enough to gain her a place on the Cuban squad for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

and won the 800m title in the

2017 Summer Universiade The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北2 ...

. 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 Ordizia, formerly known as Villafranca de Ordizia, is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. The professional cycle road race Prueba V ...

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 ...

.Fast times in Kenyan Trials but Timothy Cheruiyot falls short – weekly round-up
Athletics Weekly (21 Jun 2021). Retrieved on 24 Jun 2021.

Personal bests

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Almanza, Rose Mary Living people 1992 births Sportspeople from Camagüey Cuban female middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Cuba Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Cuba Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba FISU World University Games gold medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Cuban women