Libania Grenot

Libania Grenot Martinez (born 12 July 1983) is a Cuban-born Italian former^[3] athlete specialising in the 400 metres. Two times European champion (2014, 2016), she holds the Italian records in the 200 and 400 metres.^[4]

Libania Grenot

Grenot after winning the 400 metres at the 2016 European Championships
Personal information
Full name	Libania Grenot Martinez
National team	Cuba (2003-2007) Italy: 25 caps (2008-2019)[1]
Citizenship	Italian (since 2008) Cuban
Born	(1983-07-12) 12 July 1983 (age 42) Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Weight	61 kg (134 lb)[2]
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event	Sprint
Retired	2019
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	200 m: 22.56 (2016) 400 m: 50.30 (2009) 4 × 400 m: 3:25.16 (2016)
Medal record Women's Athletics Representing  Italy Event 1st 2nd 3rd European Championships 2 0 3 Mediterranean Games 2 2 0 Total 4 2 3 European Championships 2014 Zürich 400 m 2016 Amsterdam 400 m 2010 Barcelona 400 m 2010 Barcelona 4 × 400 m 2016 Amsterdam 4 × 400 m Mediterranean Games 2009 Pescara 400 m 2018 Tarragona 4 × 400 m 2013 Mersin 200 m 2018 Tarragona 400 m Representing  Cuba Event 1st 2nd 3rd CAC Championships 0 0 2

Grenot en route her gold medal at the 2014 European Championships

Grenot at the 2018 Mediterranean Games

Biography

Born in Santiago de Cuba on 12 July 1983, Grenot started running at the age of 9. In 2003–05, she was a Cuban champion in the 400 metres. In 2006, she married an Italian man and relocated to Casal Palocco, a XXXIV zone of Rome.^[5]

Grenot acquired Italian citizenship in 2008, and that same year, she broke an Italian record in the 400 meters with a time of 51.05 s and then 50.83 seconds.^[5] The latter performance took place at the Beijing Olympics during the semi-final, but despite this effort she did not reach the final.^[6] In 2009, she won a gold medal in the distance at the XVI Mediterranean Games with a time of 50.30 s, a new Italian record.^[7]

In 2014, she won a gold medal in the 400 metres at the European Championships, becoming the first Italian woman to win an international track title since 1938.^[8] Grenot repeated this achievement two years later.

Statistics

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Cuba
1999	World Youth Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	5th	400 m	54.43
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	9th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:28.68
2003	Pan American Games	Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep.	4th	400 m	52.23
			5th	4 × 400 m	3:28.79
2005	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Nassau, Bahamas	3rd	400 m	51.53
			3rd	4 × 400 m	3:33.85
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	34th (h)	400 m	53.05
Representing  Italy
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	10th (sf)	400 m	50.83 NR
2009	Mediterranean Games	Pescara, Italy	1st	400 m	50.30 NR
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	12th (sf)	400 m	50.85
			12th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:31.05
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	3rd [9]	400 m	50.43
			3rd	4 × 400 m	3:25.71
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	9th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:26.48
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	6th	400 m	52.57
			10th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:31.64
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	9th (sf)	400 m	51.18
			11th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:29.01
2013	Mediterranean Games	Mersin, Turkey	2nd	200 m	23.20
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	8th (sf)	400 m	50.47
			DQ	4 × 400 m	170.6[n 1]
2014	IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	6th	4 × 400 m	3:27.44
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	1st	400 m	51.10
			7th	4 × 400 m	3:28.30
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	14th (sf)	400 m	51.14
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	400 m	50.73
			3rd	4 × 400 m	3:27.49
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	8th	400 m	51.25
			5th	4 × 400 m	3:27.05 [n 2]
2017	IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	DQ	4 × 100 m	R163.3(A)[n 3]
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	9th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:27.81
2018	Mediterranean Games	Tarragona, Spain	2nd	400 m	51.32
			1st	4 × 400 m	3:28.08
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	9th (sf)	400 m	51.54
			5th	4 × 400 m	3:28.62

National titles

Grenot won seven national championships at individual senior level (six as Italian, three as Cuban).^[10]

• Italian Athletics Championships
  • 200 m: 2012 (1)
  • 400 m: 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 (5)
• Cuban Athletics Championships
  • 400 m: 2003, 2004, 2005 (3)

See also

• Italian all-time lists - 400 metres
• Italian all-time lists - 200 metres
• Italian national track relay team

Notes

1. Finishing the race without the baton. 3:29.62 in the heats.
2. Italian squad set the national record in the heats with a time of 3:25.16. It would have been 3rd result in the final
3. Lane infringement