Surinam’s Letitia Vriesde with Britain's Jo Fenn (l) and Romania's Maria Cioncan (r) (© Getty Images)
One of the most significant figures of South American athletics, Surinam’s Letitia Vriesde, has announced that the 800m at the recent World Championships in Helsinki, was the last one of her illustrious career.
The 41-year-old from Paramaribo, who has been based since the 80’s in the Netherlands, has competed in seven IAAF World Championships, from Tokyo 1991, to Helsinki 2005, and five Olympic Games, from Seoul 1988 to Athens 2004, has announced that she will move to the Steeplechase and longer distances, but that she is done with the 800 and 1500m.
World silver and bronze
Vriesde holds the honour of being the only female South American athlete to medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, in fact that happened twice, at Gothenburg in 1995, where she was second in 1:56.68, her lifetime best and current Area record, and at Edmonton in 2001, where she was third at the age of 36, in 1:57.35.
The Surinamese also managed to reach the podium at the 1995 World Indoor Championships in Barcelona ’95, with her third place at the 800m (2:00.36). That medal was the first one obtained by a female South American athlete at the event.
Pan Am, and multiple CAC and South American champion
In a career where she collected many medals, besides those at the World Championships, Vriesde also won the 800m at the 1999 Pan American Games, earned five gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games (from 1990 to 2002 in 800 and 1500m), and obtained the 1500m title at the 2001 South American Championships.
Still, Vriesde has one regret: never running at an Olympic final. In Barcelona ’92, she posted the fastest-time-ever for a non-qualifier to a final, and she ended repeating the same feat four years later in Atlanta. In spite of that, nobody can take anything away from the proud Surinamese.
“Right now I'm not really in training. I just started jogging again. I need to let my coach (Brazilian Luiz Alberto de Oliveira) know about my plans for the future. I still want to represent my country and my goal is to do it for as long as possible” said Vriesde via e-mail.
For more than 17 years, Letitia Vriesde has been at trade-mark of the 800m, and an icon for a country that for a while was only identified in the world of sports as the birthplace of great football players such as Ruud Gullit, Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf or Edgar Davids.
Yet, those men ended up representing the Netherlands internationally, while Vriesde after more than 20 years in Europe, never quit running to become Surinam’s best athlete ever.
Eduardo Biscayart for the IAAF
Letitia Alma Vriesde
Born in Paramaribo on 5 October 1964. 1.59m, 55k.
Personal bests: 400m- 52.01 ’97; 800m- 1:56.68 ’95; 600m- 1:27.01 ’03; 1000m- 2:32.24 ’91; 1500m- 4:05.67 ’91; Mile- 4:30.45; 3000m- 9:15.64 ’91 / 9:07.08i ’93 (all Surinamese national records).
Has ran 65 times under 2 minutes at 800m and has set 10 South American records, that she still holds, at 800, 1000 and 1500m, from 1990 to 1995.
The building of the Surinamese National Olympic Committee was named “Letitia Vriesdelaan Olympic Center” after her.
Her top-10 times at 800m
1:56.68 AR 2 WCh Göteborg 13.08.95
1:57.07 3rA WK Zürich 16.08.95
1:57.09 3 Her Montecarlo 10.08.96
1:57.16 4= GPF Montecarlo 09.09.95
1:57.35 3 WCh Edmonton 12.08.01
1:57.86 4 Her Montecarlo 16.08.97
1:57.96 AR 5 APM Hengelo 28.06.92
1:57.98 2 Nikaïa Nice 16.07.97
1:58.11 2 ISTAF Berlin 01.09.95
1:58.12 4 WCh Athína 09.08.97