Ana Guevara
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
![]() Guevara in 2017 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Nogales, Sonora, Mexico | March 4, 1977
Occupation(s) | Retired sprinter, politician |
Medal record |
Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (born March 4, 1977) is a Mexican former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and is the 7th fastest female 300-meter runner in the world, running 300 meters in 35.3 seconds on May 3, 2003. She served as a Mexican Senator for the 2012–2018 term.
Early life
[edit]Guevara was born in Nogales, Sonora. Her parents are Cesar Octavio Guevara and Ana María Espinoza. She has four siblings: Azalia, César, Daniela, and Jaime.
Athletic career
[edit]Ana's career began in 1996 when she started participating in her first international competition. In 1998, she won two silver medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games in the 400 and 800 meters.
Her first major victory was the gold medal in the 400 meters at the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada. A year later, she qualified to the 2000 Sydney Olympics going to the 400 meters finals, finishing with a reasonable 5th place with a time of 49.96 seconds.[1] After that race, she won 28 consecutive international races before a second-place finish in Rome in July 2004.
In 2001, she won the 400-meter race at the Herculis in Monaco, one of the two 400-meter events held at Golden League competitions that year. At the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, Guevara made the finals in the 400 m. She came off the last turn leading the race with about 105 meters to go. Unfortunately, she could not keep the fast pace and was passed by Amy Mbacké Thiam from Senegal and Lorraine Fenton from Jamaica with no more than 20 meters to go. Guevara won the bronze medal posting a season-best with a time of 49.97 seconds. In fact, Fenton and Mbacke Thiam also posted personal bests, the last one also being a national record.
In 2002, she won all seven competitions of 400 m of the Golden League (Oslo, Paris, Rome, Monaco, Zürich, Brussels and Berlin) sharing the jackpot of one million dollars in gold bars with three athletes. She also won the gold medal at the 2002 IAAF World Cup in 400 m and 400 m relay, running for the Americas team. She won the 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final in Paris.
In 2003, she defended her title in the 400 m at the 2003 Pan American Games winning the gold medal. She won the 400-meter race at the Weltklasse Zürich, one of the two 400 m events held at Golden League competitions that year. Later, on August 27, 2003, in Paris, France, she won the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in the women's 400 meters. She set a personal record, a national record, and a world-leading time, finishing in 48.89 seconds. She won the 400 m at the 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final in Monaco.
Guevara made her second Olympic appearance in 2004 as the flag carrier for the Mexican delegation and represented her country in the 400 m. After winning her heat in the first round, and her corresponding semi-final, she would go on to win the silver medal in the final. This was Mexico's first Olympic medal in athletics outside of race walking. She won the 400 m at the 2004 IAAF World Athletics Final in Monaco.
A year later, at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, she won the bronze medal in the 400 meters with a time of 49.81 seconds, despite the heavy rainfall that occurred during the event.
In 2007, for the third consecutive time, she won the gold medal in the 400 m at the 2007 Pan American Games. In addition, she led Mexico's 4 × 400 m relay team to a second-place finish. About a month later, at the age of 30, Guevara participated in her fourth World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan. She finished in fourth place with a season-best time of 50.16 seconds, just 0.01 seconds ahead of 24-year-old DeeDee Trotter of the United States.
On January 16, 2008, she announced her retirement from all competitions due to conflicts with Mariano Lara, the then president of the Mexican Athletics Federation. No help was received at that time from Carlos Hermosillo, director of the CONADE (Comision Nacional de Cultura Fisica y Deporte), who did not act rapidly and the problem only grew bigger and continued for months. Ana finally said, "My retirement from sport in Mexico is now definitive, I contemplated the possibility of participating independently at the Olympic Games, but my dream was to participate for my country."
Political career
[edit]In 2009, Guevara entered politics. She stood as the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate for the borough of Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico City but ultimately lost to Demetrio Sodi from the National Action Party (PAN).
In the 2012 general election she won a seat in the Senate on a ticket comprising the PRD, the Labor Party (PT), and the Citizens' Movement party.[2] At the end of her Senate term, she won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the 2018 general election, representing Sonora's second district for the PT.[3]
On December 13, 2016, near Mexico City, Guevara was struck by a car while riding her motorcycle and was then physically beaten by the four men who were in the car. News outlets created a national outrage over this incident.[4][5]
Allegations of corruption
[edit]In May 2020, Guevara, while serving as president of CONADE, was accused by the Superior Auditor of the Federation for allegedly requesting bribes in exchange for contracts to supply food for athletes and trainers from August 2019 to December 2019.[6][7]
In February 2024, the Attorney General of Mexico reportedly opened two investigations into Guevara.[8][9]
Personal bests
[edit]Date | Event | Venue | Time |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | 300 m | Mexico City, Mexico | 35.30 WB |
2003 | 400 m | Paris, France | 48.89 NR |
2000 | 4 × 400 m | Osaka, Japan | 3:27.14 NR |
1998 | 800 m | Maracaibo, Venezuela | 2:01.12 NR |
Achievements
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ana Guevara". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Perfil: Sen. Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza, LXII Legislatura". Sistema de Información Legislativa (SIL). SEGOB. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Perfil: Dip. Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza, LXIV Legislatura". Sistema de Información Legislativa (SIL). SEGOB. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Mexican Senator Ana Gabriela Guevara beaten by men after road crash". BBC News. 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Former Olympic medalist beaten in Mexico". Pulse (TV channel). 13 December 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
- ^ "Denuncian a Ana Guevara ante la Fiscalía General de la República por el delito de extorsión". latinus.us. May 21, 2020.
- ^ Espino, Manuel (May 21, 2020). "Ana Guevara is accused of extortion". El Universal (Mexico City).
- ^ "Ana Guevara y Conade, en más problemas: FGR investiga uso de 283 mdp tras denuncia de la Auditoría". El Financiero. February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Conade y Ana Gabriela Guevara deben aclarar más de 283 mdp". Excélsior. February 23, 2024.
- ^ 2000 IAAF Grand Prix Final 400 m results Archived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. IAAF
- ^ 2001 Herculis competition at Monaco results. The-Sports.org
- ^ 2003 World Athletics Final at Monaco results. The-Sports.org
- ^ 2004 World Athletics Final at Monaco results. The-Sports.org
External links
[edit]- 1977 births
- Living people
- Mexican female sprinters
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes for Mexico
- Olympic silver medalists for Mexico
- People from Nogales, Sonora
- Sportspeople from Sonora
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico)
- Labor Party (Mexico) politicians
- Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico)
- Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico
- Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- 21st-century Mexican politicians
- 21st-century Mexican women politicians
- Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico
- Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Mexico
- Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
- IAAF Golden League winners
- World Athletics Championships winners
- Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics
- Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games
- Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics
- Olympic female sprinters
- Politicians from Sonora
- Mexican sportsperson-politicians