Ruth Beitia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ruth Beitia

Personal information
Full name	Ruth Beitia Vila
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1979-04-01) 1 April 1979 (age 46) Santander, Spain
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)
Sport
Country	Spain
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	High jump
Club	Atletismo Piélagos
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	High jump: 2.02 m (2007)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Spain Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 1 World Championships 0 1 0 World Indoor Championships 0 2 2 European Championships 3 0 0 European Indoor Championships 1 4 1 Mediterranean Games 1 0 0 Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro High jump Bronze 2012 London High jump World Championships Silver 2013 Moscow High jump World Indoor Championships Silver 2010 Doha High jump Silver 2016 Portland High jump Bronze 2006 Moscow High jump Bronze 2014 Sopot High jump European Championships Gold 2012 Helsinki High jump Gold 2014 Zürich High jump Gold 2016 Amsterdam High jump European Indoor Championships Gold 2013 Gothenburg High jump Silver 2005 Madrid High jump Silver 2009 Torino High jump Silver 2011 Paris High jump Silver 2017 Belgrade High jump Bronze 2007 Birmingham High jump Mediterranean Games Gold 2005 Almería High jump

Ruth Beitia Vila, born on April 1, 1979, is a famous Spanish athlete. She is best known for being an Olympic champion in the High jump event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After her amazing sports career, she also became a politician. She was part of the People's Party and served in the Parliament of Cantabria.

Ruth Beitia's Amazing Athletic Career

Ruth Beitia started breaking records early in her career. In 1998, she set a new Spanish record in high jump, clearing 1.89 meters. She kept improving, eventually reaching 2.02 meters on August 4, 2007. This is still the Spanish record today. She is the first, and so far only, Spanish woman to jump higher than two meters!

Early International Competitions

Ruth's first big international competition was in 2002 at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich. She finished 11th there. In 2003, she also placed 11th at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, she didn't make it to the finals.

In 2005, she won a silver medal at the 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid. However, she didn't reach the finals at the world championships in Helsinki that year. In 2006, she earned a bronze medal at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Moscow.

Winning Medals and Olympic Dreams

In 2009, Ruth won another silver medal at the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Turin. She placed fifth at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, which later became fourth after another competitor was disqualified.

The year 2012 was very important for her. She won a gold medal at the European Championships in Helsinki. Then, at the 2012 London Olympics, she finished fourth. After this, she decided to retire from the sport.

Coming Back Stronger

Ruth was disappointed that she didn't win an Olympic medal. So, after a few months, she decided to come back to high jump! This comeback was a great idea.

She won a gold medal at the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg. She then became European champion two more times: in 2014 in Zürich and in 2016 in Amsterdam.

Her biggest dream came true at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. She won the gold medal by jumping 1.97 meters! This was a truly special moment for her.

Ruth competed in the 2017 World Championships in Athletics, finishing 12th. She also received the IAAF Fair Play Award for her great sportsmanship during the competition.

She announced her final retirement from high jump in October 2017. This was due to a health issue called rheumatoid arthritis.

Olympic Medal Reallocation

In 2021, something interesting happened regarding her 2012 Olympic performance. The original bronze medalist from the 2012 London Olympics, Svetlana Shkolina, was disqualified. This was because she failed a doping test. Because of this, Ruth Beitia was officially given the bronze medal for that event!

Ruth Beitia's Olympic Results

Olympic Games	Discipline	Place
2004 Athens	High jump	16
2008 Beijing	High jump	4
2012 London	High jump	3
2016 Rio de Janeiro	High jump	1

Ruth Beitia's Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Spain
1995	European Youth Olympic Days	Bath, United Kingdom	5th	1.80 m
1996	World Junior Championships	Sydney, Australia	16th (q)	1.79 m
1997	Mediterranean Games	Bari, Italy	9th	1.70 m
	European Junior Championships	Ljubljana, Slovenia	9th	1.82 m
1998	World Junior Championships	Annecy, France	8th	1.80 m
1999	European U23 Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	11th	1.82 m
2000	Ibero-American Championships	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	4th	1.81 m
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	7th	1.93 m
	European U23 Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	1.87 m
	Mediterranean Games	Radès, Tunisia	4th	1.83 m
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	11th	1.85 m
2003	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	5th	1.96 m
	World Championships	Paris, France	11th	1.90 m
2004	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	9th (q)	1.93 m
	Ibero-American Championships	Huelva, Spain	4th	1.88 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	16th (q)	1.89 m
2005	European Indoor Championships	Madrid, Spain	2nd	1.99 m
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	7th	1.89 m
	Mediterranean Games	Almería, Spain	1st	1.95 m
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	3rd	1.98 m
	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	9th	1.92 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	6th	1.90 m
2007	European Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	3rd	1.96 m
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	6th	1.97 m
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	4th	1.99 m
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	4th	1.96 m
2009	European Indoor Championships	Torino, Italy	2nd	1.99 m
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	4th	1.99 m
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	2nd	1.98 m
	Ibero-American Championships	San Fernando, Spain	1st	1.89 m
	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	6th	1.95 m
2011	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	2nd	1.96 m
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	16th (q)	1.92 m
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	6th	1.95 m
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1st	1.97 m
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	3rd	2.00 m
2013	European Indoor Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	1st	1.99 m
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	2nd	1.97 m
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	3rd	2.00 m
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	1st	2.01 m
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	5th	1.94 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	5th	1.99 m
	Diamond League		1st	details
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	2nd	1.96 m
	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	1.98 m
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	1.97 m
	Diamond League		1st	details
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	2nd	1.94 m
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	12th	1.88 m

Ruth Beitia's Personal Bests

Ruth Beitia's Political Career

Ruth Beitia with Pablo Casado and other leaders in January 2019.

After her successful sports career, Ruth Beitia also became involved in politics.

Early Political Roles

From 2008 to 2012, Ruth was the leader of the local branch of the People's Party (PP). This is one of the main political parties in Spain.

In 2011, she was chosen to be a member of the Parliament of Cantabria. This is like a regional government assembly in Spain. She was elected as part of the People's Party list. During her first time in parliament, she was an important official, leading many meetings.

Continuing in Politics

In the 2015 election, the People's Party did not win enough seats to form the government by themselves. However, Ruth was re-elected to the Parliament of Cantabria.

In September 2018, she was asked to join the national leadership team of the People's Party. She became the Secretary of Sport for the party.

In January 2019, the People's Party announced that Ruth would be their top candidate for the next election in Cantabria. This meant she could become the President of Cantabria. However, a few days later, Ruth decided to step down from politics. She said it was for "personal and family reasons."

See also

In Spanish: Ruth Beitia para niños