Maria Mihalache
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 May 2003 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Sprint |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 60m: 7.26 (Apeldoorn, 2025) 100m: 11.58 (Cluj, 2024) 200m: 23.67 (Tallinn, 2021) |
Maria Mihalache (born 11 May 2003) is a Romanian sprinter and model. She is a multiple-time national champion over 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. She won the 60m at the 2025 Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships.[1]
Early life
From Bucharest, she started training in athletics tat a young age when she would regularly beat her older brother in races and was taken to a local track.[2] She participated in endurance events, where she won several cross-country races, but was more passionate about sprint events and became leading Romanian sprinter at junior level.[3]
Career
She is a member of CS Olimpia-CS Rapid where she is coached by Mihăiță Băloi. She finished ninth overall at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in the 100 metres in Nairobi.[3]
She won her first senior national titles in 2022, winning in both the 100 metres and the 200 metres.[4][5][6]
She won the senior national title in 2024, as well as winning multiple medals at the Romanian junior championships.[7] In 2024, she had to recover from suffering a concussion that year after winning at the Jerusalem Grand Prix, but hitting her head on the floor at the finish.[8]
In February 2025, she won the 60 metres at the 2025 Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade.[9] She competed in the 60 metres at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, reaching the semi-finals with a personal best 7.26 seconds.[10] That month, she ran for Romania at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing.
Personal life
She has also worked as a model and has a strong interest in fashion.[2][3][11][12] She studies for a master's degree at Romanian Facultatea de Sport.[13]
References
- ^ "Maria Mihalache". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b Carcea, Adela Cristina (October 21, 2024). "The fastest athlete in Romania suffered a concussion at the end of the competition". Replicaonline.ro. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b c "Maria Mihalache, speranța atletismului românesc, la finalul unui sezon foarte bun. Ce a postat după Mondiale". Digisport.ro. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Romanian Championships". World Athletics. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Romanian Championships". World Athletics. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Craitoiu, Andrei (Oct 17, 2024). "A new cry of despair from a Romanian athlete: "There is no money for sports, there is money for everything else, but not for sports"". Libertatea.ro. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Four gold medals, at just 21 years old. Who is Maria Mihalache, the fastest woman in Romania?". Euronews. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Atleta Maria Mihalache, clipe de coșmar după victoria de la Ierusalim: a suferit o comoție cerebrală și a fost transportată de urgență la spital". aznews.ro. 20 Oct 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Belgrade Hosted the Best Balkan Athletes". Balkan Athletics. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Athletics: Romania participates with seven athletes at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands". ecopolitic. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Maria Mihalache, champion in athletics and on the fashion podium". Click.ro. August 22, 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Nichita, Ionut (8 August 2021). "Maria Mihalache este atleta model a României. Și la propriu și la figurat! Foto". Fanatik.ro. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "„Am trecut linia de finiș și am făcut comoție cerebrală" » Povestea impresionantă a celei mai rapide atlete din România, Maria Mihalache: „M-am trezit la spital, cu o pancartă mică pe care scria «winner»"". gsp.ro. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2025.