Tudorița Chidu (born 17 October 1967) is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n former

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

who competed in both

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, 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 a ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

events. Her personal bests were 1:57.64 minutes and 4:05.69 minutes, respectively. Her greatest honour was a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

in 1991. She represented Romania at the

1990 European Athletics Championships The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. The host stadium was Stadion Poljud. It was the last participation of East Germany (which was already scheduled to be merged ...

and

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries partic ...

, and was a team bronze medallist at the

1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Durham, United Kingdom, at the University of Durham on 25 March 1995. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times'' and in the Herald A herald, or a herald of ...

. She was an indoor specialist, appearing three times at the

European Athletics Indoor Championships The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skil ...

(best placing of fourth in 1992) and two times at the World Indoor Championships. She was the 1995 gold medallist at the Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships.

Career

Born in Amara, Romania,Sofronie, Mădălin (2015-05-16)
Sportiva Tudoriţa Chidu, gloria atletismului ialomiţean din timpul tranziţiei
. Slobozia. Retrieved on 2015-07-16. Chidu came to prominence in 1988 when she won the 800 m Romanian Championships in 1988 with a time of 1:57.80 minutes. Her best time that year was 1:57.64, which ranked her 14th globally for the season.Tudorita Chidu
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-07-16. On her international debut she was the fastest non-qualifier in the 800 m heats at the

1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2nd IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Budapest Sportcsarnok in Budapest, Hungary from March 3 to March 5, 1989. There were a total number of 373 participating athletes from 62 countries. Results Men 1985 , 1987 , ...

, coming third in her race and seventh overall. A double continental appearance came the following year and she placed fifth at the

1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on 3 and 4 March 1990. It was the last time that the event had been held annually and not biennially as it is now, as well as the last time that it was held ov ...

and sixth at the

. Her season's best of 1:59.09 minutes set at the latter competition ranked her in the top-20 800 m athletes for that year. Chidu switched to the 1500 m for the

1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 3rd IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville, Spain from March 8 to March 10, 1991. It was the first Indoor Championships to include relay races as well as women's triple ...

and the change brought her a bronze medal behind Lyudmila Rogachova and

Ivana Kubešová Ivana Kubešová (née Kleinová, then Walterová; born 26 May 1962 in Šumperk) is a retired middle distance runner who represented Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. She won three medals at the European Indoor Championships as well as a ...

. Her finishing time o f 4:06.27 minutes made her the third fastest indoors that season. Her first and only global outdoor appearance for Romania came at the

, but she could not progress beyond the 800 m heats. She was a guest performer at the

Japan Championships in Athletics The is an annual outdoor track and field competition, organized by Japan Association of Athletics Federations. Currently it takes place in June or July. The competition is also for the qualifying trial for the Japanese national team of internati ...

that year and topped the podium in the 1500 m. She missed a 1500 m medal by one place at the

1992 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1992 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in 1992 in Genoa, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a pen ...

, losing to teammate

Doina Melinte Doina Ofelia Melinte (; née Beșliu on 27 December 1956) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres in 1984. She won the ...

. She returned to that event for the 1994 edition. A gold medal came at the Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships. The second a final global medal of Chidu's career was earned at the

. She finished the senior race in 22nd position, which was sufficient to help the Romanian women's team of

Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo (, ; born 14 November 1975) is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal. Szabo is a three-time world champion. She was nam ...

, Elena Fidatof and Iulia Negura into the bronze medal spot. Individually, she won the

Chiba International Cross Country The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan, in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Ch ...

that season. She made international appearances for Romania in the

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, 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 competiti ...

road relay and won both her legs of the

Yokohama International Women's Ekiden The Yokohama International Women's Ekiden held in Yokohama, Japan, was one of the prominent ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times ...

and Beijing International Women’s Ekiden in 1995.Todorita Chidu

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 on 2015-07-16. Despite still being in her twenties, she did not compete at any major competitions after 1995. Following her retirement a gymnasium in her hometown was named in her honour.

Personal bests

*800 Metres outdoors – 1:57.64 min (1988) *1500 Metres outdoors – 4:05.69 min (1993) *800 metres indoors – 1.59.09 min (1990) *1500 metres indoors – 4:06.27 min (1991)

National titles

* Romanian Athletics Championships **800 m: 1988

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chidu, Tudorita Living people 1967 births Sportspeople from Ialomița County Romanian female middle-distance runners Romanian female cross country runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Romania Japan Championships in Athletics winners 20th-century Romanian sportswomen