|
The main photo above shows Maria in full flow during the 1500m
semi-finals at the
2004 Olympics in Athens. The inset picture shows her
crossing the line behind Kelly Holmes
and Tatyana Tomashova to win the
bronze medal in a new PB of 3: 58.39. Remarkably all of
the first five
athletes in the race clocked new PBs.
On January 21, 2007, Maria died in a car accident near Pleven, Bulgaria.
She was returning from a training camp in Greece when her vehicle flipped
over and struck a tree, killing her instantly. She was just 29 years old.
|
.
| |
Womens 1500m. Final.
Olympic Games 2004 |
| |
|
|
|
. |
| 1. Kelly Holmes |
|
GBR |
|
3: 57.90 |
| 2. Tatyana Tomashova |
|
RUS |
|
3: 58.12 |
| 3. Maria Cioncan |
|
ROM |
|
3: 58.39 |
| 4. Natalya Yevdokimova |
|
RUS |
|
3: 59.05 |
| 5. Daniela Yordanova |
|
BGR |
|
3: 59.10 |
| 6. Lidia Chojecka |
|
POL |
|
3: 59.27 |
| 7. Anna Jakubczak |
|
POL |
|
4: 00.15 |
| 8. Elvan Abeylegesse |
|
TUR |
|
4: 00.67 |
| |
Annual progress 1,500m.
2005 4:07.39 Firenze (ITA) 19 JUN 2005
2004 3:58.39 Athina (GRE) 28 AUG 2004
2003 4:02.80 Paris (FRA) 31 AUG 2003
2002 4:02.10 Bucuresti (ROU) 09 JUN 2002
2001 4:12.24 Funchal (POR) 30 JUN 2001
2000 4:06.20 Bucuresti (ROU) 06 AUG 2000
1999 4:11.18 Bucuresti (ROU) 05 JUL 1999
Personal bests:
800 metres - 1:59.44 min (2004)
1500 metres - 3:58.39 min (2004)
3000 metres - 8:57.71 min (2002)