Paula Ivan

Paula Ivan

Personal information
Born	20 July 1963 Herăști, Romania
Medal record Women’s Athletics Competitor for  Romania Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 1500 metres 1988 Seoul 3000 metres Universiade 1987 Zagreb 1500 metres 1987 Zagreb 3000 metres 1989 Duisburg 1500 metres 1989 Duisburg 3000 metres World Cup in Athletics 1989 Barcelona 1500 metres European Indoor Championships 1989 The Hague 1500 metres

Paula Ivan (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpa.ula iˈvan]; born 20 July 1963 in Herăști as Paula Ionescu) is a former Romanian athlete and Olympic champion.

In 1987 Ivan won golds at both 1500m and 3000m at the Universiade in Zagreb. Later the same year at the World Championships held in Rome she did not advance past the heats of the same events.

In July 1988 she won the 800m and 1500m at the Balkan Games in Ankara, winning 800m in career best time of 1:56.42. On 27 July at Verona Ivan broke the 4-minute mark over 1500m for the first time in career, clocking 3:58.80, improving to 3:56.22 when winning in Zurich on 17 August.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea she won the Silver medal in her first event, the 3000m, and then Gold in the 1500m final held six days later. In the latter event her winning time, 3:53.96, was a new Olympic record.

In 1989 Ivan won the 1500m at the European Indoor Championships in Den Haag, in a time of 4:07.16. Later that year, outdoors, she broke the world record for the mile with a time of 4:15.61. She repeated her 1500m/3000m golden double at the Universiade in Duisburg in August and then won the 1500m at the IAAF World Cup in Barcelona in September. She then retired from the sport to become a coach.

In 2000, at 36 years old and after ten seasons away from competition, Ivan returned for one more season. She ran the 1500m in several meets on the IAAF Grand Prix circuit, with her season's best time being 4:04.66, at the Monte Carlo Herculis-Zepter meet, on 18 August 2000.

She also competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships four times (1984-1987). In the 1985 championship race, she was part of the Romanian team that earned the team bronze medal (Ivan finished 34th). Her best individual performance was a 9th-place finish at the 1987 championship race in Warsaw.

Since 2002, she has been a member of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Spiru Haret University in Bucharest.

References

• Paula Ivan profile at IAAF