- Mercedes Chilla
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This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Chilla and the second or maternal family name is López.
Mercedes Chilla López (born January 19, 1980 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz) is a javelin thrower from Spain. She has represented Spain at two Summer Olympics (2004 and 2008) and has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics. Chilla is the Spanish record holder for the event, with a best mark of 64.07 metres, and has won medals at the Mediterranean Games and the Ibero-American Championships.
Contents
Career
She first reached the international podium at the 2003 Summer Universiade, where she took the bronze medal. She attended her first Olympic competition at the 2004 Athens Games and she was 22nd overall. In 2005 she enjoyed success at the regional level with another javelin bronze at the 2005 Mediterranean Games and she improved on her previous global competition performance with a fifteenth place finish at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics.
Her 2006 season saw her gain a slew of European honours, starting with a bronze at the 2006 European Cup Winter Throwing and another third place finish at the 2006 European Cup. She completed a trio of bronze medal performances by reaching the podium at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. She capped off a successful season with a personal best and Spanish record throw of 63.20 metres at the Herculis meeting in August 2006.
She suffered a number of injuries between 2008 and 2010, interrupting her international career, but she still managed ninth place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and eleventh place at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She took the javelin gold at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Cádiz, nearing her top form with a winning throw of 62.39 m.[1] Chilla improved her Spanish record the following week, throwing 64.07 m to win at the Liga de Clubes de División de Honor meeting in Valencia, Spain.[2] This mark made her fifth in the world rankings and demonstrated her potential to return to the podium at the 2010 European Athletics Championships.[3]
Achievements
Year Competition Venue Position Notes Representing Spain
2001 Universiade Beijing, PR China 6th 2003 Universiade Daegu, South Korea 3rd [4] 2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 22nd 58.45 m 2005 Mediterranean Games Almería, Spain 3rd World Championships Helsinki, Finland 15th 58.38 m 2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd 61.98 m 2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 27th 53.64 m 2008 Olympic Games Beijing, PR China 9th 58.13 m 2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 11th 56.68 m 2010 Ibero-American Championships San Fernando, Spain 1st 62.39 m European Championships Barcelona, Spain 6th 61.40 m 2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 17th 58.34 m References
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2010-06-07). Murer vaults 4.85m Area Record as Cuba and Spain dominate in San Fernando – Ibero-American Championships report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-07.
- ^ Chilla bate su récord de jabalina. El Mundo (2010-06-12). Retrieved on 2010-06-23.
- ^ 'I am feeling the same way as I did four years ago, when I won the medal in Göteborg,' says Spain's Chilla. European Athletics (2010-06-23). Retrieved on 2010-06-23.
- ^ Athletics at the 2003 Summer Universiade, official results
External links
- IAAF profile for Mercedes Chilla
- sports-reference
Categories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- Spanish javelin throwers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes of Spain
- People from Jerez de la Frontera
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