Muriel Hurtis-Houairi (born 25 March 1979) is a French

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete.Athlete biography: Muriel Hurtis-Houairi
beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 30, 2008 She came to prominence in 2002 when she won the 200 m gold medals at both the European Indoor Championships and the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

. The following year she added the World Indoor title and won a bronze medal at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Men's results T ...

and a gold in the 4×100 metres relay with France. Her form faltered over the next few years and she failed to get past the quarter-final stage at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, although she won Olympic bronze in the relay. She failed to retain her European title at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and was knocked out at the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Championships. She missed out on the 200 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics by one place. She is the French indoor record holder over 200 m.

Career

Her first major success came at the 1998 IAAF World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, where she won the 200 m gold medal. She made her first senior global appearance at age 20 at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

and, after running a personal best of 22.31 seconds in the qualifiers, she finished fifth in the 200 m semi-finals. She ran with the women's 4×100 metres relay team and scored a silver medal alongside Sylviane Félix, Frédérique Bangué, and Odiah Sidibé. Hurtis made her Olympic debut the following year at the

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 ...

and again she reached the semi-finals, this time finishing in seventh place. Hurtis's first global final came at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where she finished in fifth. She also helped the French relay team to the World silver medal at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

later that year.

European and World medals

The 2002 season marked a significant career progression for Hurtis, beginning with the gold medal at the European Indoor Championships. She ran a

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

personal best that summer, recording a time of 10.96 seconds, making her the joint second-fastest French woman over the distance alongside Marie-José Pérec. She became the 200 m European Champion at the

2002 European Athletics Championships The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was pa ...

, winning in a season's best time of 22.43 seconds, and won a second gold with France as part of the 4×100 metres relay team. She closed the year with a fourth place in the 100 m at the 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final and by winning the 200 m silver medal at the

2002 IAAF World Cup The 9th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was hosted by Madrid, September 21–22, 2002, in the Estadio La Peineta. The IAAF wo ...

behind Debbie Ferguson. She continued her strong form into 2003, recording a French indoor record of 22.49 seconds in the 200 m at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships before going on to win the gold medal. At the

she finished in fourth place, but the original winner (

Kelli White Kelli White (born April 1, 1977, in Oakland, California) is an American former sprinter. She won two gold medals in the World Championships in Paris in 2003. However, on June 18, 2004, she was stripped of her medals, because she tested positive ...

) was stripped of her medal for using banned substances and Hurtis was upgraded to the bronze medal. Further complicating the situation, Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, who was upgraded to the gold medal was banned six months later for steroid use. Hurtis went on to win her second medal of the competition by winning the relay with Sylviane Félix,

Christine Arron Christine Arron (born 13 September 1973) is a former track and field sprinter, who competed internationally for France in the 60 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres and the 4 × 100 metres relay. She is one of the ten fastest female 100 metres spri ...

and

Patricia Girard Patricia Girard (also Girard-Léno, born 8 April 1968 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe,) is a French athlete who competed mainly in the 100m hurdles. Biography She competed for France in the 1996 Summer Olympics in the 100m hurdles where she won t ...

. At the inaugural 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final, she won the 200 m gold and took fifth in the 100 m.

Drop in form

With the removal of the 200 m from the World Indoor programme, Hurtis took part in her first global

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

race at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were r ...

as was fifth with a season's best of 7.17 seconds. In the 2004 Olympics she failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 200 metres. She won the bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the

in Athens, Greece. Hurtis-Houairi represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

. She competed at the 4x100 metres relay together with Myriam Soumaré, Lina Jacques-Sebastien and Carima Louami. In their first round heat they did not finish and were eliminated due to a mistake with the baton exchange. A number of injuries to her

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

interrupted her career in 2009 and 2010, but she returned to the track in May 2010 and ran the 400 metres in 53.65 seconds. Encouraged by her quick performance, given that she had not attempted distance competitively since 1998, she did not rule out a switch to the longer distance. However, she said her main focus remained the 200 m.Hurtis-Houairi impresses over 400m but aims for 200m in Barcelona
European Athletics (2010-05-12). Retrieved on 2010-06-04.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtis, Muriel 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Bondy French people of Guadeloupean descent French female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of France Olympic bronze medalists for France World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Olympic female sprinters