Anju Bobby George (born 19 April 1977) is a retired Indian athlete. Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics jumping 6.70 metres (22.0 ft).[1] She went on to win the gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final (a competition between best eight athletes in the world based on the world ranking) in 2005, a performance she considers her best. Anju was upgraded to the gold status from silver in the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations, following the recent re-testing of the latter's sample collected at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki.[2] She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2004.[3] She had got 5th position with personal best of 6.83 metres (22.4 ft) at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In March 2021, Anju won the BBC lifetime achievement award for best athlete in India.[4] She is also the current vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India.[5]
.jpg) Anju Boby George in 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Anju Markose | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 April 1977 Changanassery, Kottayam, Kerala, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |  India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | Long jump: 6.83 m NR (Athens 2004) Triple jump: 13.67 (Hyderabad 2002) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 30 July 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editAnju was born into the Kochuparambil family in the village of Cheeranchira near Changanassery town, Kottayam, Kerala to a Syrian Orthodox Christian family, to K. T. Markose. [6]
Professional career
editAnju made history when she won the bronze medal clearing 6.70 m in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She also won a gold medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games. She achieved her personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens which brought her the fifth position. This is the current Indian national record.[3]
She received the Arjuna award in 2002–2003 for eminent sportspersons from the government of India and the country's highest sporting honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2003–2004 after her success in the World Athletic meet. She was conferred Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2004.[7]
Anju Bobby George pulled out of the 52nd national inter-state athletics in Hyderabad, due to an upper respiratory tract infection.[8]
Personal life
editAnju is married to Robert Bobby George, who is a former national champion in triple jump and her coach too. She is employed with the Customs department in Bangalore. The couple have a son Aaron and a daughter Andrea.[9]
Involvement with sports association
editAnju was appointed as president of the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC).[10] She resigned from the post on 22 June 2016.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "EVENT REPORT WOMEN LONG JUMP FINAL". IAAF. 30 August 2003.
- ^ "IAAF ratifies Anju's top finish in 2005 World Athletics Final". Times of India. PTI. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Anju Bobby George is now a gold medallist". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 14 January 2014.
- ^ "Anju Bobby George bags BBC lifetime achievement award". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Executives". Athletics Federation of India. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ "Anju Bobby George Profile - Anju Bobby George Biography - Indian Athlete Anju Bobby".
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Anju's Olympic hopes suffer setback". The Times of India. 23 June 2012.
- ^ "Personal life". Archived from the original on 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Anju Bobby George to head Kerala Sports Council". The Free Press Journal. IANS. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Anju Bobby George steps down as president of Kerala Sports Council". The Indian Express. PTI. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
External links
edit- Anju Bobby George at World Athletics
- Anju Bobby George at Olympedia
- Anju Bobby George at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
