Gabriela Szabo - The Story Of A Legend

As a child, Gabriela flirted with gymnastics and swimming. When it became visible that she wasn't going to be good enough to make the Olympics, she switched to track. At the age of 13, Szabo was discovered by Zsolt Gyongyossy while dominating a 600 m race. She then left her hometown, Bistrita, to train at the prestigious Rapid Bucharest Sports Club. At 15 (1991), Szabo was the winner of the European Junior 3000 m competition and she also got the same title, repeating the victory in the following 3 years (1992,1993, 1994).At the age of 19, she became the youngest World Indoor Champion in history, winning the 3000 m.

The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta brought silver to Gabriela in the 1500 m competition which was an immense frustration for the athlete as her goal was of course the gold. For her, the second place doesn't even exist.

"I have never liked losing. For me, the second place was like abandoning the race. When I came second, although I had a good timing, it didn't mean anything to me because I was not the winner. Coming second ambitioned me so much that next time I was winning the race."

Earlier in the Games, she had failed to qualify for the 5000 m final - an event that was considered her best chance for a medal. However, four years later in Sydney (2000), Szabo won the victory in the 5000 m race thus her gold desire was achieved in spite of previous dissapointments. Later in the Games, she came back to win a bronze medal in a tactical 1500 m race.

When asked about her daily schedule of training to achieve these kinds of sport levels, she told reporters: "I sleep up to 16 hours a day. I wake up at 7:00 a.m., eat two slices of bread and go back to sleep again for another hour and a half. Then I go out and run 20-22 kilometers, eat something and go back to sleep again. In the evening, I run the rest of the distance, to total up to 35 kilometers a day."

On October 2, 1999, Gabriela Szabo, 24, and her coach, Zsolt Gyongyossy, 37, were married in Bucharest. He was her only coach ...when you think about it...what could motivate better than love? A coach who really loves you (and you love him as well) can really motivate you to reach your highest performances. However, they didn't make their romance public until shortly before the wedding.

The Olympic Games in Sydney

On a giant arena, filled with spectators, the feminine 5000 meters trial was announced. When the pistol went out, every runner was searching for the perfect spot.

All the hard years of training paid off. Even if at first the Yugoslavian Olivera Jevtic seemed to be the leader of the squad for the next few laps, the true battle was given at the last lap where Gabi and the Irish Sonia O'Sullivan were heavily competing. Gabi was leading the squad. 14:40.79 was the new Olympic record. She won and this was the only title she didn't have until this competition. Emotions overtook her and for the first time she let her tears loose.

After an amazing and tight race, after running 5000 m, her first declaration was: "I feel fantastic. It was tough but I had the speed to stay ahead." Afterwards she ran the honor tour clad in a tricolor flag that the swimmer Beatrice Caslaru offered.

Declared athlete of the world, Gabi Szabo honored her calling and secured the only title she was missing. In 1997 and 1999 she got another 2 titles for World Champion (5000m course), as well as World Title and a European Title for 3000 meters plus, she is the winner of the Golden League Circuit.

You can see here the ingredients of success:
-discover where you are good at and do that thing
-train hard, focus on your training
-keep yourself motivated in a positive way
-last but not the least, get all the love you can get to keep you alert!
In a nutshell: do what you are good at with perseverance and love and you'll make it! Don't worry too much about disappointments, learn from them because next time you may as well win the battle!