Kalayathumkuzhi Mathews Beenamol, popularly known as K. M. Beenamol (born 15 August 1975), from Kombidinjal, Idukki district,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

is an international athlete from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Professional athletics career

Beenamol and her brother K. M. Binu became the first Indian siblings to win medals in a major international competition. Binu won a silver medal in men's 800m race.

Olympics

It was during

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, Beenamol was largely unknown, until she became the third Indian woman to reach an Olympic semi-final since

P. T. Usha Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 S ...

and Shiny Wilson, who achieved almost the same feat in 400m Hurdles in

800m 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 ...

respectively in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Asian games

She won the gold medal in women's 800m and the 4 × 400 m women's relay in the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

held at

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

Achievements

Awards

Beenamol was conferred

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 2000 for her exemplary achievement in her athletic career. She is also the joint winner of

's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in the year 2002–2003 along with Anjali Ved Pathak Bhagwat. In 2004, she was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

Personal life

K. M. Beenamol is married to Vivek George, a pathologist, and has 2 children, Ashwin and Haile (named after Ethiopian legend

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beenamol, K. M. 1975 births Living people Malayali people Sportswomen from Kerala Indian female middle-distance runners 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Olympic athletes of India 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 Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award People from Idukki district Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games