Jeļena Prokopčuka (née Čelnova; born 21 September 1976 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) is a retired Latvian

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling * Long-distance operator * Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths * Long-distance trail *European long-d ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, best known for winning the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

in 2005 and 2006.

Biography

She holds six outdoor and one indoor Latvian record, ranging from

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

to the

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 ...

distance. Her husband, Aleksandrs Prokopčuks, holds the men's Latvian marathon record with 2:15:56 hours. She is a three-time participant at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, having represented Latvia in track events in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Prokopčuka won the 2001 Tallinn Marathon. She won the

Paris Half Marathon Paris Half Marathon (''French: Semi-marathon de Paris''), known as the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon held every March in Paris, France since 1993. Kenya's Stanley Biwott is the men's course ...

in 2002, 2003 and 2009. She was the 2003 champion at the

World Military Cross Country Championships The World Military Cross Country Championships is an international biennial cross country running competition organised by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). The competition is typically held in late February or early March. First hel ...

. She won the

Great Edinburgh Run The Great Edinburgh Run was an annual ten-mile road running event which took place in the city centre of Edinburgh in Scotland. The last event was in April 2017 and the organiser have no plans to reinstate the event at present. Part of the Great ...

three times consecutively from 2005 to 2007. She is also a five-time winner of the Kuldīga Half Marathon, and a two-time winner of the

Almond Blossom Cross Country The Almond Blossom Cross Country ( pt, Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor) is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, in the Algarve region of Portugal, in early March. It is one of the IAA ...

. Elsewhere, she won the 2002

20 Kilomètres de Paris The 20 Kilomètres de Paris (''Paris 20 km'') is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometres which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October. First held in 1979, the race attracts top level international competitors ...

, the

Osaka International Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai T ...

in 2005 (where she ran her national record time of 2:22:56 hours), and the

San Silvestre Vallecana The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with partic ...

in 2006. She was the top-performing European at the 2012

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, whi ...

, coming fifth overall. She was tenth at the 2012 London Marathon and won the

Riga Half Marathon The Riga Marathon (also known as the Rimi Riga Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in Riga, Latvia, since 1991. A flat, single-lap marathon course in the Baltics' largest city. The marathon course has been measured and certified by AIMS ...

. She surprised at the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...

, leading out the elite women, and although she fell to fourth she ran a national record of 68:09 minutes. Her final outing of the year came at the

Yokohama Marathon The is an annual marathon road running event for men and women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held in mid March in the city of Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous ...

, where her season's best time of 2:26:55 hours brought her fourth place. A strong finish at the 2013

Nagoya Marathon The , named until the 2010 race, is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds World Athletics Platinum road race status. It i ...

saw her climb from 16th to fourth and record a time of 2:25:46 hours – her fastest in six years. She was runner-up to

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, ...

at the Great Manchester Run in May.Wenig, Jörg (26 May 2013)
World lead and course record for Tirunesh Dibaba over 10km in Manchester
IAAF. Retrieved on 1 June 2013.

Achievements

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokopcuka, Jelena 1976 births Living people Latvian female long-distance runners Latvian female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Latvia Athletes from Riga New York City Marathon female winners Latvian Academy of Sport Education alumni Latvian female cross country runners