Susanna Kallur
Encyclopedia
Susanna Elisabeth Kallur (sɵˈsanːa ˈkalːɵr) (born February 16, 1981) is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 athlete competing mainly in sprint hurdles. She has won several international medals, including the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 in the 100 m hurdles
100 metres hurdles
The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...

 at the 2006 European Athletics Championships
2006 European Championships in Athletics
The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

. Kallur holds the world indoor record for 60 m hurdles
60 metres hurdles
60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...

.

Career

Kallur made a breakthrough by winning the 100 m hurdles at the 2000 World Junior Championship. She then initially failed to make an impact on senior competition, failing to make the final of two World Championships and then the 2004 Olympic Games. She improved her personal best to 12.67 seconds.

European champion

In 2005 she won her first senior gold medal at the 2005 European Indoor Championships in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

. But once again she failed to reach the final of the 2005 World Championships
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...

 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. She came third in the 2006 World Indoor Championships. Kallur, in her biggest achievement to date, won the 100 m hurdles at the 2006 European Championships in front of her home crowd in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

. She won in a time of 12.59 sec ahead of Kirsten Bolm
Kirsten Bolm
Kirsten Bolm is a German hurdler.Her personal best is 12.59 seconds, achieved in July 2005 in the Crystal Palace Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre....

 and Derval O'Rourke
Derval O'Rourke
Derval O'Rourke is an Irish sprint hurdles athlete. She competes internationally in the 60 and 100 metres hurdles, and is the Irish national record holder in both events...

.

Kallur retained her title at the 2007 European Indoor Championships
2007 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
The 29th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March 2007...

. She finished only fourth in the 100 m hurdles at the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...

 in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, despite running a personal best of 12.51s. However, the Swedish team had grounds for appeal, as eventual winner Michelle Perry
Michelle Perry
Michelle Perry is an American athlete. At the 2004 Summer Olympics she placed 14th overall in the heptathlon competition...

 had crossed over into Kallur's lane. Indeed they did register an appeal, but after the time limit had elapsed. After the World Championships, Kallur won the three remaining Golden League
2007 IAAF Golden League
The 2007 Golden League was the 10th edition of the IAAF's annual series of six athletics meets, held across Europe, with athletes having the chance to win the Golden League Jackpot of $1 million.The Jackpot events were:* Men** 100 m** 1500 m / Mile...

 events in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, posting a personal best in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 capital and beating Perry in all three races.

World record and injuries

After posting several fast times throughout the beginning of the 2008 indoor season, Kallur broke the 60 m hurdles indoor world record, posting a time of 7.68 at a meeting in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 on February 10, 2008. Kallur was then the clear favourite for the World Indoor
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...

 title in Valencia and won her heat in 7.87 seconds, but did not start the semi-finals, pulling out injured.

She fell at the first hurdle of her semi-final of the 100 m women's hurdles event at the 2008 Olympic Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

. She missed the entirety of the 2009 season through a stress fracture injury. She had surgery on her shin in late 2008 and, although she had a metal plate removed in June 2009, she declared herself unfit for the 2009 World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

.

She briefly returned to competition in 2010 running a time of 12.78 in New York City to finish seventh and coming fourth over 100 m hurdles in the European Cup in the 1st Division. However, she was again sidelined from athletics in 2011. She had hoped to compete at the World Championships but did not recover from injury in time. She resumed training in August at a low-intensity, saying that she wants to run in the Olympics in 2012.

Personal life

Born February 16, 1981 in Huntington
Huntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Kallur is now a resident of Falun
Falun
Falun is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 36,447 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Dalarna County...

, Dalarnas län, and trains with Falu IK. Her twin sister Jenny
Jenny Kallur
Jenny Margareta Kallur is a former Swedish track and field athlete who competed in hurdling and sprinting events. Her twin sister Susanna Kallur, whom she is four minutes older than, is also a 100 m hurdler...

, who is 4 minutes older, is also a 100 m hurdler. They are daughters of the ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player Anders Kallur
Anders Kallur
Anders Kallur is a Swedish retired professional ice hockey player.Kallur played for Modo Hockey and Södertälje SK before moving to Djurgårdens IF in 1978. He was awarded Guldpucken as the best player of the 1978–79 season...

, who won four Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 championships with the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

, and his wife Lisa.

She is and weighs . She is coached by Torbjörn Eriksson and also by Karin Torneklint. Often called 'Sanna' in Sweden.

As she was born in the USA, she has dual-citizenship. She studied at and competed for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

.

In January 2007 she won the Jerring Award, voted by the people of Sweden to be the best sports person or team in Sweden at the time. Number two in the vote was the Swedish national men's ice hockey team
Swedish national men's ice hockey team
The Swedish men's national ice hockey team, or Tre Kronor , as it is called in Sweden, is one of the most successful ice hockey teams in the world...

, which won Olympic gold
Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics
-Leading scorers:-Leading goaltenders:Goalkeepers with 40% or more of their team's total minutes.-Awards:Antero Niittymäki was named the most valuable player and received the Directorate Award for best goaltender of the tournament. Directorate Awards also went to Teemu Selänne for best forward, and...

 and World Championships
2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
The 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships was the 70th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 45 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for the 2007 competition...

 in 2006.

Susanna and her twin sister Jenny
Jenny Kallur
Jenny Margareta Kallur is a former Swedish track and field athlete who competed in hurdling and sprinting events. Her twin sister Susanna Kallur, whom she is four minutes older than, is also a 100 m hurdler...

 have also done gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 and used to be members of the Swedish Junior National Team.

Competition record

  • 2005 European Indoor Championships
    2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships
    The 28th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005.-Men:...

     (Madrid)
(60m Hurdles) Gold medal (7.80), making it a double win for the twins.
  • 2006 World Indoor Championships
    2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships
    The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena....

     (Moscow)
(60m Hurdles) Bronze medal
  • 2006 European Championships (Göteborg)
(100m Hurdles) Gold medal
  • 2007 European Indoor Championships (Birmingham)
(60m Hurdles) Gold medal

Personal bests

  • 60 metres
    60 metres
    60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...

    : 7.24 secs (Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

    , 3 March 2007)
  • 60 metres hurdles
    Hurdling
    Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...

    : 7.68 secs (Karlsruhe
    Karlsruhe
    The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

    , 10 February 2008) World record
  • 100 metres
    100 metres
    The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

    : 11.30 secs (Malmö
    Malmö
    Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...

    , 22 August 2006)
  • 100 metres hurdles
    100 metres hurdles
    The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...

    : 12.49 secs (Berlin
    Berlin
    Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

    , 16 September 2007)
  • 200 metres
    200 metres
    A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

    : 23.32 (Gothenburg
    Gothenburg
    Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

    , 28 August 2005)
  • 800 metres
    800 metres
    The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

    : 2:27.87 (Huddinge, 6 September 1998)

External links

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