Gulnara Iskanderovna Samitova-Galkina (born July 9, 1978 in Naberezhnye Chelny

Naberezhnye Chelny

Naberezhnye Chelny is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.A major industrial center, Naberezhnye Chelny stands on the Kama River some 225 km east of Kazan near Nizhnekamsk Reservoir. It serves as the administrative center of Tukayevsky District, although it is not...

, Tatarstan

Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...

) is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n middle-distance runner. In July 2004 she ran 3000 metres steeplechase in a new world record

World records in athletics

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking....

 of 9:01.59. Early that year she won a bronze medal over 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

 at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...

.

Gulnara Samitova-Galkina is of mixed Tatar

Tatars

Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...

 and Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 origin. She is a two-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres.

Samitova claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase, breaking her own world record in the final with a time of 8:58.81 min, becoming the first woman in history to run under 9 minutes for the steeplechase.

She won both the 800 and 1500 metres races at the Russian Team Championships in June 2009, clocking a personal best of 2:00.29 in the 800 m and a world leading time over 1500 m.

She missed the whole 2010 season, including the 2010 European Athletics Championships, after becoming pregnant and giving birth to her daughter Alina in June. She returned to training in the autumn of 2010.

Achievements

Representing
2003	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	7th	5000 m
2004	World Indoor Championships 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...	Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... , Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	3rd	1500 m
	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....	6th	5000 m
2007	World Championships 2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...	Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	7th	3000 m s'chase
2008	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	1st	3000 m s'chase

Personal bests

• 800 metres
  800 metres
  The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
  
   - 2:00.29 min (2009)
• 1500 metres
  1500 metres
  The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
  
   - 4:01.29 min (2004)
• Mile run
  Mile run
  The mile run is a middle-distance foot race which is among the more popular events in track running.The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races...
  
   - 4:20.23 min (2007)
• 3000 metres
  3000 metres
  The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
  
   - 8:42.96 min (2008)
• 3000 metres steeplechase - 8:58.81 min WR (2008)
• 5000 metres
  5000 metres
  The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
  
  - 14:33.13 min (2008)

External links

• Focus on Athletes – in-depth article from IAAF