Mercedes Chilla facts for kids

Mercedes Chilla López was born on January 19, 1980, in Jerez de la Frontera, a city in Spain. She is a talented athlete who specializes in the javelin throw. This is an event where athletes throw a spear-like object as far as they can. Mercedes has proudly represented Spain in many big competitions.

She competed in two Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008. She also took part in the World Championships in Athletics. Mercedes holds the Spanish record for the javelin throw, with an amazing throw of 64.07 meters. She has also won medals at important events like the Mediterranean Games and the Ibero-American Championships.

Mercedes Chilla's Athletics Journey

Early Success and Olympic Dreams

Mercedes first showed her international talent in 2003. She won a bronze medal at the 2003 Summer Universiade, which is a major sports event for university students. Her first time competing in the Olympic Games was at the 2004 Athens Games. She finished 22nd overall, which was a great start.

In 2005, Mercedes continued to achieve success. She earned another bronze medal in javelin at the 2005 Mediterranean Games. She also improved her performance at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, finishing 15th.

European Medals and New Records

The year 2006 was very successful for Mercedes. She won several European awards. She started by earning a bronze medal at the 2006 European Cup Winter Throwing. She then won another third-place medal at the 2006 European Cup.

Mercedes completed a set of three bronze medals by reaching the podium at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. She ended this fantastic season by setting a new personal best and Spanish record. She threw the javelin 63.20 meters at the Herculis meeting in August 2006.

Overcoming Challenges and Returning Strong

Between 2008 and 2010, Mercedes faced some challenges with injuries. These injuries paused her international career for a while. Despite this, she still managed to finish ninth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also placed eleventh at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

In 2010, Mercedes showed her strength by winning the javelin gold medal. This was at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Cádiz, Spain. Her winning throw was 62.39 meters, showing she was getting back to her best form. Just one week later, she broke her own Spanish record again. She threw an incredible 64.07 meters at a meeting in Valencia, Spain. This throw made her one of the top five javelin throwers in the world at that time. It proved she could return to the medal podium at the 2010 European Athletics Championships.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Spain
1998	World Junior Championships	Annecy, France	23rd (q)	Javelin throw (old spec.)	45.45 m
1999	European Junior Championships	Riga, Latvia	10th	Javelin throw	51.03 m
2000	Ibero-American Championships	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	3rd	Javelin throw	55.99 m
2001	European U23 Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	2nd	Javelin throw	57.78 m
	Universiade	Beijing, China	6th	Javelin throw	53.32 m
	Mediterranean Games	Radès, Tunisia	6th	Javelin throw	51.44 m
2002	Ibero-American Championships	Guatemala City, Guatemala	4th	Javelin throw	57.74 m
2003	Universiade	Daegu, South Korea	3rd	Javelin throw	55.94 m
2004	Ibero-American Championships	Huelva, Spain	5th	Javelin throw	54.34 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	22nd (q)	Javelin throw	58.45 m
2005	Mediterranean Games	Almería, Spain	3rd	Javelin throw	57.69 m
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	15th (q)	Javelin throw	58.38 m
2006	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	3rd	Javelin throw	61.98 m
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	27th (q)	Javelin throw	53.64 m
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	9th	Javelin throw	58.13 m
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	11th	Javelin throw	56.68 m
2010	Ibero-American Championships	San Fernando, Spain	1st	Javelin throw	62.39 m
	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	6th	Javelin throw	61.40 m
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	17th (q)	Javelin throw	58.34 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	10th	Javelin throw	57.91 m

See also

In Spanish: Mercedes Chilla para niños