FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WLODARCZYK RETURNS HOME, SETS EURO RECORD, WINS TWO GOLDS

ORANGE, Calif. – Veteran world class track and field star, Anna Wlodarczyk continues to defy age. This time she did it in the comfort of her own backyard. The Chapman University cross country and track head coach returned to her native country and added another European record to her impressive resume, while capturing two gold and one silver medal at the European Veterans Athletics Championships in Poznan, Poland. The games, which took place in July, provided Wlodarczyk an opportunity to compete in her homeland for the first time since 1985.

Participating in a new age bracket only provided more opportunities for Wlodarczyk, who turned 55 in March. The former Olympian – who finished fourth in the long jump in the 1980 Olympic Games for her native Poland – took first place in the Women’s 55-59 age group in both the long jump and the triple jump last month. She added a silver medal in the short hurdles. Her 10.18-meters mark in the triple jump set a new European record for her age group. She already owned the European triple jump and long jump records in the Women’s 50-54 group.

Wlodarczyk, 55, previously won five gold medals at the Masters Track Championships in Puerto Rico in 2003, and a gold in 2005 at the U.S. Masters in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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