Silvana Cruciata (born 15 February 1953) is a former Italian middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

.Silvana Cruciata
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-04-23. She represented Italy at the

1976 Montreal Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

and shared medals with the Italian women's teams at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Her best of 18.084 km for the

one hour run The one hour run is an athletics event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by World Athletics as a track event, it is rarely contested apart from occasional world record atte ...

set in 1981 was a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for over seventeen years. Among her other achievements were wins at the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon and

Stramilano The Stramilano is an annual athletics event which takes place in Milan, Italy in spring. The event comprises three parts: the Stramilano International Half Marathon (a professional road running competition over 21.0975 km), the La Stramilano ...

road races and a bronze medal over

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

at the 1981 IAAF World Cup.

Biography

She began her career as a

cross country runner Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

and was part of the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

-winning team in the long race at the 1974 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, alongside race winner Paola Pigni and

Margherita Gargano Margherita Gargano (born 18 November 1952 in Bagheria, Province of Palermo) is a former female middle distance runner from Italy. Biography She is best known for winning the gold medal at the 1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Ga ...

. She won a second team silver at the

1976 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1976 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Chepstow, Wales, at the Chepstow Racecourse on 28 February 1976. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Complete results for men, junior men, women, medalli ...

with a team of

Gabriella Dorio Gabriella Dorio (born 27 June 1957 in Veggiano, Veneto) is an Italian former athlete and Olympic gold winner. She won two medals, at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. Biography She first participated in the 1976 Summer O ...

, and

Cristina Tomasini Cristina Tomasini (born 26 July 1958) is an Italian female retired long-distance runner, which participated at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics. Biography Her best result at International level was the 5th place at the 1977 IAAF World C ...

. She came 29th at the

1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Madrid, Spain, at the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela on March 28, 1981. A report on the event was given in the ''Glasgow Herald''. Complete results for men, junior men, women, meda ...

, but this finish was enough to help the Italian women to the team bronze. Cruciata represented Italy in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

at the 1974 European Athletics Championships, but was eliminated in the heats. She made her only Olympic appearance at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

in Montreal, and was again knocked out in the heats stage of the 1500 m. She was fifth in the final over 1500 m at the

1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at Palasport di San Siro in Milan, Italy, between 11–12 March 1978. It was the first time the championships were held in Italy. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participating ...

. She won a number of national titles in this period, taking the

Italian title in 1975, a 3000 m/1500 m indoor double in 1978, and both the 3000 m and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

titles in 1981. She was the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

list over 3000 m at the 1981 IAAF World Cup. Cruiciata broke

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizat ...

for the women's

in 1980 and 1981 – she managed a distance of 17.563 km in Milan in 1980 and improved upon this with a distance of 18.084 km in Rome the following year (also setting a best time of 49:44 minutes for the 15,000 m track run). Her hour run record was a long-standing achievement and the mark went unbeaten until 1998 when Kenyan Tegla Loroupe broke the record. Cruciata's performance remains the best ever by a European, as well as being the Italian national record. She also ran a career best of 4:24.6 minutes for the mile at the

DN Galan BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of t ...

that year and this remains the stadium record for the event. She also focused on

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

events in her later career. She took three straight victories at the Stramilano Half Marathon from 1976 to 1978, and took a fourth win in 1981. Her performances of 1:22:05 hours in 1977 and 1:18:44 hours in 1978 were world's best performances for women over the distance. She had her first wins over the marathon at the Monza Marathon in 1976 and 1977, but her career best came in 1980 at the San Silvestro Marathon in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where her time of 2:44:31 was a course record. In 1981 she won the Maratonina dei tre comuni, Rome-Ostia Half Marathon and the Amatrice-Configno race. She had a consecutive victory at the Tre Comuni in 1982 and won the Rome-Ostia competition for a second time in 1984.

Achievements

National titles

She won five national championships at individual senior level. *

Italian Athletics Championships The Italian Athletics Championships ( it, Campionati italiani assoluti di atletica leggera) are the national championships in athletics, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera. The first edition, four races only, w ...

**3000 m: 1975, 1978, 1981 **Marathon: 1981 *

Italian Athletics Indoor Championships The Italian Athletics Indoor Championships ( it, Italian Athletics Indoor Championships) are the national championships in athletics of the indoor events, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera from 1970 (first editio ...

**1500 m: 1978

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruciata, Silvana Living people 1953 births Athletes from Naples Italian female middle-distance runners Italian female long-distance runners Italian female cross country runners Italian female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Italian women 21st-century Italian women

Biography

Achievements

National titles

See also

References

External links