Letitia Vriesde

Letitia Alma Vriesde (born 5 October 1964) is a female former track and field athlete from Suriname, who specialised in the 800 metres but was also successful over 1500 metres. She is the first (and as of 2015, only) sportsperson from Suriname to compete at five Olympic Games. She won a silver medal at the 1995 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships. Vriesde holds the South American records for 800m, 1000m and 1500m (indoors and outdoors) and also for 3000m (indoors).

Vriesde started running in Suriname, coached by Luiz de Oliveira. She left Suriname after failing to be selected for the 1984 Olympics to train in the Netherlands. She competed in the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics, and broke into the highest echelons of the sport in 1991, when she reached the finals of both 800m and 1500m at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, finishing in fifth and ninth places respectively. At the 1992 Summer Olympics she set a record of sorts by recording the fastest ever non-qualifying time (1:58.28) in an 800m semi-final.

Vriesde won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships, before going on to win a silver medal at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics behind Cuba's Ana Quirot. A year later, she missed the finals at the 1996 Summer Olympics, running a nearly identical time to her 1992 Olympic performance (1:58.29), again placing fifth in her semifinal. She has also won many medals at the Pan American Games and Central American and Caribbean Games.

Vriesde was disqualified and stripped of her gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games after testing positive for excessive caffeine levels. She was said to have the equivalent of five gallons of coffee in her system, and admitted her guilt. She was not banned however and went on to compete at that year's World Championships. Drinking too much coffee or taking a common cold tablet would no longer get athletes disqualified after a new global list of banned substances was drawn up by the World Anti-Doping Agency and applied from 1 January 2004.

Vriesde retired soon after competing at her seventh World Championships in 2005. In Paramaribo a street formerly known as Cultuurtuinlaan was changed into Letitia Vriesdelaan. The Surinamese Government also gave her a piece of land in appreciation of her achievements.

Vriesde marriedBas van Veen on 9 September 2005 in Middelburg, Holland. Her daughter Joi Vienna was born on 19 March 2007.

• 400 m 52.01 (1997)
• 800 m 1:56.68 (1995)
• 1000 m 2:32.25 (1991)
• 1500 m 4:05.67 (1991)
• Mile 4:30.45 (1992)
• 3000 m 9:15.64 (1991)

As of 2017, Vriesde's 800m best of 1:56.68 ranks her 58th on the World all-time list.

• 1:56.68 AR 2 WCh Gothenburg 13.08.95
• 1:57.07 3rA WK Zürich 16.08.95
• 1:57.09 3 Her Monte Carlo 10.08.96
• 1:57.16 4= GPF Monte Carlo 09.09.95
• 1:57.35 3 WCh Edmonton 12.08.01
• 1:57.86 4 Her Monte Carlo 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 Athens 09.08.97

800 metres Event History

• 1988 SeoulRound OneHeat 44th2:01.83
• 1988 SeoulSemi-FinalsHeat 28th2:02.34
• 1992 Barcelona Round OneHeat 32nd1:59.93
• 1992 Barcelona Semi-FinalsHeat 15th1:58.28
• 1996 AtlantaRound OneHeat 12nd1:59.71
• 1996 AtlantaSemi-FinalsHeat 25th1:58.29
• 2000 Sydney Round OneHeat 24th2:02.09
• 2004 AthensRound OneHeat 34th2:01.70
• 2004 AthensSemi-FinalsHeat 38th2:06.95

1500 metres Event History

• 1988 Seoul Round OneHeat 212th4:19.58
• 1992 Barcelona Round OneHeat 25th4:10.63
• 1992 Barcelona Semi-FinalsHeat 18th4:09.64

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Suriname
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	14th (sf)	800 m	2:02.34
			22nd (sf)	1500 m	4:19.58
1990	Central American and Caribbean Games	Mexico City, Mexico	2nd	800 m	2:04.87 A
			1st	1500 m	4:26.28 A
	South American Games	Lima, Peru	1st	800 m	2:06.2
			1st	1500 m	4:23.0
1991	Pan American Games	Havana, Cuba	4th	800 m	2:01.46
			2nd	1500 m	4:16.75
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	5th	800 m	1:58.25
			8th	1500 m	4:09.67
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	5th (sf)	800 m	1:58.28
			8th	1500 m	4:09.64
1993	Central American and Caribbean Games	Ponce, Puerto Rico	1st	800 m	2:04.28
			1st	1500 m	4:18.45
1994	South American Games	Valencia, Venezuela	2nd	800 m	2:06.2
			2nd	1500 m	4:23.0
1995	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Spain	3rd	800 m	2:00.36
	Pan American Games	Mar del Plata, Argentina	3rd	800 m	2:02.25
			4th	1500 m	4:23.80
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	2nd	800 m	1:56.68
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	7th (sf)	800 m	1:58.29
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	4th	800 m	1:59.84
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	4th	800 m	1:58.12
1998	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	800 m	2:00.24
	World Cup	Johannesburg, South Africa	3rd	800 m	2:00.56
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	11th (sf)	800 m	2:03.50
	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	1st	800 m	1:59.95
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	7th (sf)	800 m	2:00.33
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	18th (h)	800 m	2:02.09
2001	South American Championships	Manaus, Brazil	2nd	800 m	2:00.93
			1st	1500 m	4:19.97
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	3rd	800 m	1:57.35
2002	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Salvador, El Salvador	1st	800 m	2:04.50
2003	Pan American Games	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	–	800 m	DQ
	World Championships	Paris, France	11th (sf)	800 m	2:00.88
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	24th (sf)	800 m	2:06.95
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	19th (sf)	800 m	2:02.07

Representing the Americas