Viorica Dima Ghican (born 9 June 1965) 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 ...

n female former distance runner who competed over distances from

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. She competed in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

disciplines. She was the gold medallist in the 10,000 m at the

1989 Summer Universiade The 1989 Summer Universiade, also known as the XV Summer Universiade, took place in Duisburg, West Germany. Sports * * * * Venues Medal table {{UniversiadeGB Fencing coach / manager team Dr Ronald Moore 1989 U Sport in Duisburg U ...

, setting a games record in the process. Among her other individual honours were gold medals at the

Balkan Athletics Championships The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games () is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans and organized by Balkan Athletics. The first games were held in Athens in 1929, and the most recent were being held in ...

and

World University Cross Country Championships The World University Cross Country Championships is an international biennial cross country running competition for student athletes, organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The 2012 edition of the competition featured 76 ...

in 1988, and silver medals at the

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United ...

and 1989 European Cup. Ghican represented Romania five times at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

from 1986 to 1997, with her best performances being eighth place in the 1990 senior women's race and a team bronze medal at the 1996 competition. She also won international honours in

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competition, but it sim ...

(

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

relays), including individual and team wins at the Barcelona Ekiden and

International Chiba Ekiden The Ekiden#Other_Major_Ekiden_Events_in_Japan, International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race (athletics), relay race, or ekiden as it is known in ...

in 1990. Her personal best time of 31:18.18 minutes for the 10,000 m was the fastest time in the world in the 1990 season. This was a Romanian national record until 2002, when it was beaten by

Mihaela Botezan Mihaela Maria Botezan (born 21 November 1976 in Ocna Mureş) is a Romanian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in the 10000 metres and the half marathon. She represented Romania at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2002 European Athletics Champ ...

. Although she continues to rank high on the Romanian lists, she never won a national title as she was overshadowed by contemporaries such as Olympic champions

Maricica Puică Maricica Puică (née Luca on 29 July 1950) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She is the 1984 Olympic champion in the 3000 metres. One of the greatest female middle-distance runners of the 1980s, she also twice won the World Cross Co ...

and

Paula Ivan Paula Ivan (born 20 July 1963 as Ionescu, later known as Ilie) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. Born in Herăști, Giurgiu County, she graduated from the Gheorghe Șincai High School in Bucharest in 1982. In 1987, Ivan won gold ...

(who beat her to the 3000 m gold at the 1989 Universiade), as well as Elena Murgoci,

Iulia Olteanu Iulia Olteanu (née Negură; born 26 January 1967) is a Romanian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track and road running events. She made her breakthrough on the international scene with consecutive wins at th ...

and

Elena Fidatov Elena Fidatov, sometimes known as ''Elena Fidatof'', (born 24 July 1960) is a former Romanian middle- and long-distance runner who competed in track, road, and cross country running competitions. In a period spanning 1984 to 2002, she comp ...

among others in a high point for Romanian women's distance running. On the track and field circuit she won races at the

Janusz Kusociński Memorial The Janusz Kusociński Memorial (Polish: ''Memoriał Janusza Kusocińskiego'') is an annual track and field meeting at different venues in Poland, in recent times at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland. The meeting was first held in 1954 i ...

(1987), and the Meadowlands Invitational,

Meeting de Paris Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamon ...

, Meeting de Atletismo Sevilla and

Helsinki Grand Prix The Helsinki Grand Prix ( fi, Maailmankisat, World Games in English) was an annual one-day outdoor track and field meeting held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1959, it was originally organised by a local athle ...

in 1990.Viorica Ghican

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2020-03-14.Viorica Ghican

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved 2020-03-14. She was third in the 5000 m at the

1990 IAAF Grand Prix Final The 1990 IAAF Grand Prix Final was the sixth edition of the season-ending competition for the IAAF Grand Prix track and field circuit, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held on 7 September at the Olympic St ...

, which resulted in her placing second behind

PattiSue Plumer Patricia Susan "PattiSue" Plumer (born April 27, 1962) is an American former middle-distance and long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, finishing 13th in the 3000-m final in 1988 in Seoul, before going on to finish 10th in the 1500-m ...

in the series rankings. She grew up in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, ...

and was part of a successful group of local runners training under coach Ion Bură, which included

Constantina Diță Constantina Diță (formerly Constantina Diță-Tomescu born on January 23, 1970, in Turburea, Gorj County), is a Romanian long-distance runner, who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She was the marathon gold medallist at t ...

, Luminița Gogârlea and Ion Avramescu. She later fell out with Bură and became a running coach herself at

CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu Clubul Sportiv Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu (), commonly known as Pandurii Târgu Jiu or simply Pandurii, was a Romanian football club based in Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, which competed last time in the Liga IV. Founded in 1962 following the merg ...

, though she spoke highly of him and his training methods. She married Marcel Dima, a former footballer and referee.Viorica Dima Ghican despre atletism, împlinirile vieții de sportiv și întâlnirea cu Ion Bură: „A fost șansa vieții mele”
. Sport in Gorj (2013-03-01). Retrieved 2020-03-14.

International competitions

References

External links

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Profile
at Track and Field Statistics {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghican, Viorica 1965 births Living people Romanian female middle-distance runners Romanian female long-distance runners category:Sportspeople from Târgu Jiu Romanian female cross country runners Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Romania Universiade silver medalists for Romania Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games