Gabriela Szabo

This article is about Romanian field and track athlete. For the Hungarian sprint canoer, see Gabriella Szabó.

Gabriela Szabo (Romanian pronunciation: [ɡabriˈela ˈsabo], Hungarian: Szabó Gabriella;^[2] born 14 November 1975)^[3] 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.

Gabriela Szabo

Gabriela Szabo in May 2014
Personal information
Nickname	Gabi[1]
Born	14 November 1975 (1975-11-14) (age 49) Bistriţa, Romania
Height	1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Weight	42 kg (93 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Medal record Representing  Romania Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 1 1 World Championships 3 0 0 World Indoor Championships 4 1 0 European Championships 0 1 1 European Indoor Championships 2 0 0 Universiade 2 0 0 Total 11 3 3 Olympic Games 2000 Sydney 5000 m 1996 Atlanta 1500 m 2000 Sydney 1500 m World Championships 1997 Athens 5000 m 1999 Seville 5000 m 2001 Edmonton 1500 m European Championships 1998 Budapest 5000 m 2002 Munich 1500 m 1994 Helsinki 3000 m World Indoor Championships 1995 Barcelona 3000 m 1997 Paris 3000 m 1999 Maebashi 3000 m 1999 Maebashi 1500 m 2001 Lisbon 3000 m European Indoor Championships 1998 Valencia 3000 m 2000 Ghent 3000 m Universiade 1995 Fukuoka 5000 m 1995 Fukuoka 1500 m

Szabo is a three-time world champion. She was named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year in 1999.^[4] Throughout her entire career she was coached by Zsolt Gyöngyössy, whom she eventually married. In May 2005 she retired from competitions due to exhaustion. She held the European record in the 3000 m between 2002 and 2019.

Early life

Szabo was born to a Romanian mother and a Hungarian father.^[5][6] As a child, Szabo used to speak Hungarian with her friends, but she can only understand a few words today, which she regrets.^[1][2]

Post-sport career

Gabriela Szabo as Minister of Youth and Sport in the third Ponta cabinet

As of 19 August 2013 she held the honorific title of Romanian Tourism Ambassador,^[7] together with 7 other cultural and sport personalities of Romania.

On 5 March 2014, she was appointed Minister of Youth and Sport in the Victor Ponta social-democratic government. She held the position until 17 November 2015.

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Romania
1991	European Junior Championships	Thessaloniki, Greece	1st	3000 m	9:19.28
1992	World Junior Championships	Seoul, South Korea	2nd	3000 m	8:48.28
1993	European Junior Championships	San Sebastián, Spain	1st	3000 m	8:50.97
1994	World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	3000 m	8:47.40
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	3rd	3000 m	8:40:08
1995	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Spain	1st	3000 m	8:54.50
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	4th	5000 m	14:56.57
	Universiade	Fukuoka, Japan	1st	1500 m	4:11.73
			1st	5000 m	15:29.86
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	2nd	1500 m	4:01.54
			23rd (h)	5000 m	15:42.35
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	1st	3000 m	8:45.75
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	1st	5000 m	14:57.68
	Universiade	Catania, Italy	1st	1500 m	4:10.31
1998	European Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	1st	3000 m	8:49.96
	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	5000 m	15:08.31
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	1st	1500 m	4:03.23
			1st	3000 m	8:36.42
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	1st	5000 m	14:41.82
2000	European Indoor Championships	Ghent, Belgium	1st	3000 m	8:42.06
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	3rd	1500 m	4:05.27
			1st	5000 m	14:40.79
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	2nd	3000 m	8:39.65
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	1st	1500 m	4:00.57
			8th	5000 m	15:19.55
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	2nd	1500 m	3:58.81
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	11th	5000 m	14:59.36

Personal bests

Outdoor (track)

1500 metres - 3:56.97 (1998)
One mile - 4:19.30 (1998)
3000 metres - 8:21.42 (2002)
5000 metres - 14:31.48 (1998)

Indoor

1500 metres - 4:03.23 (1999)
One mile - 4:23.19 (2001)
2000 metres - 5:30.53 (1998)
3000 metres - 8:32.88 (2001)
5000 metres - 14:47.35 (1999)

2001 Accident

Szabo is remembered for a collision with German long-jumper Kofi Amoah Prah during an indoor meeting at Stuttgart in 2001. Szabo was leaving the track after her competition had finished while Amoah was running for his attempt.^[8] Szabo walked into Amoah's path and they collided heavily.^[9]