Manuel "Manolo" Martínez Gutiérrez (born December 7, 1974) is a retired Spanish shot putter. Nicknamed the "Gentle Giant", his personal best throw outdoors is 21.47 metres and he has an indoor best of 21.26 m. These marks are the Spanish national records for the event. His international career lasted from 1992 to 2011 and he earned national selection on 84 occasions – the most by any Spanish athlete.Spain’s former world and European indoor champion Martinez announces his retirement . European Athletics (2011-04-29). Retrieved on 201104-30.
Born in León, Spain, he established himself as a junior athlete at the age of seventeen by winning the silver medal at the World Junior Championships and becoming the European Junior Champion the following year. His first major medals as a senior thrower came indoors when he won silver at the 2000 European Athletics Indoor Championships and then secured the bronze at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
His career highlights also came indoors, as he won at the 2002 European Indoor Championships and went on to take the gold medal at the 2003 World Indoor Championships. He scored the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in May 2013 following an IAAF drug test disqualified the first-place participant.
He represented Spain at the Olympics four times consecutively from 1996 to 2008, and also competed at five consecutive editions of the European Athletics Championships. He participated in the shot put at every World Championships in Athletics from 1993 to 2009, with the sole exception of the 1999 event.
In other competitions, he was a two-time gold medallist at the Mediterranean Games (2001 and 2009), including a Games record of 21.03 m,Mediterranean Games - GBR Athletics won gold at the 2001 Summer Universiade,Summer Universiade. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. and won three titles at the Ibero-American Championships.Ibero-American Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. He was also the bronze medallist at the 2001 Goodwill Games, 2004 IAAF World Athletics Final, and 2005 European Indoor Championships.
Martínez improved Spanish national records on 31 occasions in his career. He won 16 consecutive outdoor national titles in the shot put from 1993 to 2008, and also won 15 indoor titles.Manuel Martínez biografía . RFEA. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. He competed domestically for C.D. Universidad León Atletismo and was coached by Carlos Burón.Manuel Martínez anuncia su retirada . RFEA (2011-04-29). Retrieved on 2011-04-30. Martínez retired from competitive athletics in April 2011.
Outside of shot putting, he is an artist and an actor. He starred in Estigmas, a film directed by Adán Aliaga and produced by Jaibo Films. The film is adapted from Lorenzo Mattotti's comic, Stigmate. He performed the role of Goliat in 2011 film El Capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial and the role of Tyson in the 2012 series La fuga.
International performances 1992Ibero-American ChampionshipsSeville, Spain2nd17.49 mWorld Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea 2nd18.14 m1993European Junior ChampionshipsSan Sebastián, Spain 1st19.02 mMediterranean GamesNarbonne, France5th18.59 mWorld ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany11th19.03 m1994European Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France4th19.85 mIbero-American ChampionshipsMar del Plata, Argentina2nd18.70 mEuropean ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland14th (q)18.53 m1995World Indoor ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain4th19.97 mWorld ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden21st (q)18.50 m1996European Indoor ChampionshipsStockholm, Sweden7th19.50 mOlympic Games Atlanta, United States15th (q)19.12 m1997World Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France5th20.37 mWorld ChampionshipsAthens, Greece12th (q)19.61 mUniversiadeCatania, Italy7th19.05 m1998European Indoor ChampionshipsValencia, Spain6th20.09 mIbero-American ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal1st19.47 mEuropean ChampionshipsMunich, Germany7th20.02 m1999World Indoor ChampionshipsMaebashi, Japan4th20.79 m2000European Indoor ChampionshipsGhent, Belgium 2nd20.38 mIbero-American ChampionshipsRio de Janeiro, Brazil1st19.70 mOlympic GamesSydney, Australia6th20.55 m2001World Indoor ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal 3rd20.67 mEuropean CupBremen, Germany1st21.03 mWorld ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada4th20.91 mUniversiadeBeijing, China 1st20.16 mMediterranean GamesRadès, Tunisia 1st21.03 mGoodwill GamesBrisbane, Australia3rd20.44 m2002European Indoor ChampionshipsVienna, Austria 1st21.26 mEuropean ChampionshipsMunich, Germany5th20.45 mWorld CupMadrid, Spain6th19.76 m2003European Indoor CupLeipzig, Germany2nd19.60 mWorld Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom 1st21.24 mEuropean CupFlorence, Italy1st21.08 mWorld ChampionshipsParis, France14th (q)19.78 mWorld Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco4th20.32 m2004World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary5th20.79 mIbero-American ChampionshipsHuelva, Spain1st20.59 mOlympic GamesAthens, Greece3rd20.84 mWorld Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco3rd20.67 m2005European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain3rd20.51 mEuropean CupFlorence, Italy2nd20.28 mMediterranean GamesAlmería, Spain2nd19.97 mWorld ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland14th (q)19.55 m2006European Indoor CupLiévin, France3rd20.09 mWorld Indoor ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia5th20.43 mEuropean CupMálaga, Spain2nd20.58 mEuropean ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden8th19.68 mWorld Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany8th19.79 m2007European Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom14th (q)18.73 mWorld Championships Osaka, Japan—NM2008World Indoor ChampionshipsValencia, Spain13th (q)19.75 mOlympic GamesBeijing, China19th (q)19.81 m2009European Indoor ChampionshipsTurin, Italy6th19.65 mEuropean Team ChampionshipsLeiria, Portugal2nd20.39 mMediterranean GamesPescara, Italy 1st20.30 mWorld Championships Berlin, Germany18th (q)19.80 m2010European Championships Barcelona, Spain23rd (q)18.08 m2011European Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France19th (q)18.62 m
References
Competition statistics Manuel Martínez biografía . Real Federación Española de Atletismo (RFEA). Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
External links