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Virginia Berasategui

Personal information
Born	(1975-07-15) 15 July 1975 (age 49) Bilbao, Biscay, Spain
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Weight	50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Country	Spain
Medal record Representing  Spain Women's triathlon Ironman Triathlon World Championships 2009 Kailua-Kona Elite ITU Long Distance World Championships 2010 Immenstadt Elite 2002 Nice Elite 1997 Nice Elite Women's duathlon 1997 Guernica Elite

Virginia Berasategui Luna (born 15 July 1975 in Bilbao, Biscay) is a Basque triathlete and duathlete who represented Spain in international competition. In 2009, Berasategui took third place at the Ironman World Championships. In March 2013, she announced that she would retire from the sport after the 2013 season.

Career

Berasategui placed second at the 1997 Europe Triathlon Championships and won four medals at the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships between 1997 and 2010. Additionally, she won two medals at the European Championship in 2009 and 2010, a medal at the 2009 Ironman World Championship and three medals at the Ironman 70.3 European Championship between 2007 and 2012.

In duathlon she took third at the 1997 ITU Duathlon World Championships.

Doping

In 2005, Berasategui tested positive for EPO following her win at Ironman Lanzarote. The allegations were eventually dropped because of doubts regarding the validity of the testing for EPO at the time. Berasategui claimed "extreme high protein levels in their urine after strenuous exercise" to be the reason for the false positive.

In June 2013, it was announced that Berasategui had tested positive for doping during the Bilbao Triathlon held on 18 May 2013, an event in which Berasategui won the half distance race. One of six anti-doping controls carried out after the Bilbao race had tested positive to which Berasategui asked for a counter-analysis on. However, almost two weeks later, Berasategui confessed to the doping charges. In a statement she said that she would not appeal because she knew that she was guilty and expressed the desire to be open and honest. She apologized and stated that she made "the worst mistake in which an athlete can fall."

Notable results

References

1. ^ "Virginia Berasategui Luna – Personal data" (in Spanish). Spiuk. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
2. "Virginia Berasategui, Una Ironman de intensas sensaciones" (in Spanish). Vidactiva. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
3. Carlson, Timothy (10 October 2009). "Crowie and Chrissie take Kona encore wins". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
4. "Virginia Will Retire At End of Season" (in Spanish). 3vir. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
5. ^ "Virginia Berasategi Luna: Full Athlete Results". World Triathlon. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
6. "Index of /Assets/Files/Results/Worldchampionship". ironman.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
7. "Ironman". Archived from the original on 2019-06-04.
8. "Ironman". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
9. Krabel, Herbert (15 June 2013). "Virginia Berasategui tests positive". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
10. "Virginia Berasategui, positive in doping control of Bilbao Triathlon" (in Spanish). Marca.com. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
11. Viñas, Sergio Rodriguez (15 June 2013). "Virginia Berasategui tested positive for doping in Bilbao Triathlon" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
12. Krabel, Herbert (26 June 2013). "Berasategui confesses to doping". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved 27 June 2013.

External links

• www.3vir.com (in Spanish)
• ITU Profile Page

• 1975 births
• Living people
• Spanish female triathletes
• Triathletes from the Basque Country (autonomous community)
• Sportspeople from Bilbao
• Doping cases in triathlon