Ana Guevara

Ana Guevara
Ana Guevara (front) at the 2007 World Championships
Born	(1977-03-04) March 4, 1977 (age 35) Nogales, Sonora,  Mexico
Occupation	Retired Sprinter, politician.

Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (born March 4, 1977, in Nogales, Sonora) is a now-retired Mexican track and field athlete, specialized in the 400 meters.

Career

Her career began in 1996 carrying out diverse tours, participating in her first international competences. In 1998, she won two silver medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games in the distances of 400 and 800 meters.

Her first major victory was the gold medal in the 400m at the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada. A year later, she qualified to the 2000 Sydney Olympics going to the 400m finals, finishing with a reasonable 5th place with a time of 49.96 seconds. (After that race, she won 28 consecutive international races before a second-place finish in Rome in July 2004).

At the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, Guevara made the finals in the 400m. She came off the last turn leading the race with about 105m to go. Unfortunately, she could not keep the fast pace and was passed by Amy Mbacke 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 2003, she defended her title in the 400m at the 2003 Pan American Games winning the gold medal. Later, on August 27, 2003, in Paris, France, she won the International Association of Athletics Federations' Golden League in the women's 400m. She set a personal record, a national record, and a world leading time, running away from the field in 48.89 seconds. That time currently is, as of 2008, the 9th fastest time in history.

Guevara, being the flag carrier for the Mexican team, would make her second Olympic team on 2004 representing her country in the 400 meters. 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.

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.

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 X 400 m relay team to a second place finish with an incredible comeback. About a month later, at age of 30 Guevara participated in her fourth World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. She finished in fourth place with a time of 50.16 seconds, a season best. Just beating 24 year old DeeDee Trotter of the United States by .01 seconds.

On January 16, 2008 she announced her definitive retirement from all competitions due to conflicts with Mariano Lara, the (nowadays former), president of the Mexican Athletics Federation. No help was received at that time by 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..."

In 2009 she entered politics, standing as the PRD candidate for Miguel Hidalgo Delegation in Mexico City. Due to her inexperience in politics she lost to Demetrio Sodi from PAN.

Personal bests

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Mexico
1996	Ibero-American Championships	Medellín, Colombia	3rd	4x400 m relay	3:38.48
	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20)	San Salvador, El Salvador	4th	400 m	56.03
			2nd	800 m	2:09.8
			2nd	4x400 m relay	3:47.96
	World Junior Championships	Sydney, Australia	7th (sf)	400 m	55.24
1998	Ibero-American Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	400 m	50.65
			1st	800 m	2:01.55
			1st	4x400 m relay	3:33.41
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	2nd	400 m	51.32
			2nd	800 m	2:01.12 NR
1999	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	1st	400 m	50.91
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	6th (sf)	400 m	50.70
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	5th	400 m	49.96
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	3rd	400 m	49.97
2002	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Salvador, El Salvador	1st	400 m	51.87
			1st	4x400 m relay	3:31.24
2003	Pan American Games	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	1st	400 m	50.36
	World Championships	Paris, France	1st	400 m	48.89 WL
			5th (h)	4x400 m relay	3:29.74
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	2nd	400 m	49.56
			5th (h)	4x400 m relay	3:27.88 NR
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	3rd	400 m	49.81
2006	Central American and Caribbean Games	Cartagena, Colombia	1st	400 m	50.99
			1st	4x400 m relay	3:29.92
2007	Pan American Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	400 m	50.34
			2nd	4x400 m relay	3:27.75 NR
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	4th	400 m	50.16
			8th	4x400 m relay	3:29.14

External links

• Ana Guevara´s official site
• IAAF profile for Ana Guevara