12 Facts About Zulia Calatayud

Zulia Calatayud first gained prominence by reaching the semi-finals of the 400m at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France.

Zulia Calatayud finished sixth in the 800m at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

In 2002, Zulia Calatayud became the 30th-fastest woman ever in her event, running 1:56.09 at the Herculis Golden League meeting, in Monaco.

Zulia Calatayud made a successful return to competition, not only qualifying for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, but making her second consecutive Olympics final, finishing eighth.

Zulia Calatayud ran a season's best 1:57.92 in her semi-final, her second fastest ever, and In the final matched every move made by Mutola and world leader, Tatyana Andrianova.

Zulia Calatayud ended the 2005 season with a convincing victory at the World Athletics Final in Monaco.

Zulia Calatayud claimed the 800m crown at the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games, in Cartagena, Colombia, but after 51 consecutive weeks, she lost the No 1 spot in the rankings to Kenya's African and Commonwealth champion Janeth Jepkosgei.

Nonetheless, Zulia Calatayud ended 2006 on a high note, winning the World Athletics Final and World Cup on consecutive weekends, beating rival Jepkosgei on both occasions.

Zulia Calatayud was selected as Cuban and Latin American sportswoman of the year in an annual survey conducted by Prensa Latina.

In 2007, Zulia Calatayud was injured again, this time her season did not get underway until June, but after six weeks of training, she took a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Since 2006, Zulia Calatayud has not made a major world final, falling in the semifinals at the World World Championships in Osaka 2007 and Berlin 2009, as well as the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

In 2009, Zulia Calatayud won the 800 at the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Athletics Championships in Havana, Cuba, in the Estadio Panamericano.