Melissa Gonzalez (hurdler)

Melissa Gonzalez (born June 24, 1994) is a Colombian-American athlete specializing in the 400 metres hurdles and 4 × 400 m relay. A native of El Paso, Texas, U.S., she also holds Colombian citizenship and represents them at international events. She has won several gold medals, mostly in South American competitions. Gonzalez's personal best is 55.32 seconds, which was set at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is the wife of American football player David Blough; her younger brother, Christian Gonzalez, also plays the sport.

Melissa Gonzalez
Personal information
National teamColombia
Citizenship
Born (1994-06-24) June 24, 1994
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Spouse(s)
(m. 2019)
RelativesChristian Gonzalez (brother)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)
University teamTexas Longhorns

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Colombia
2016 South American U23 Championships Lima, Peru 1st 400 m hurdles 59.26
4 × 100 m relay DNF
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:42.19
2017 South American Championships Asunción, Paraguay 3rd 100 m hurdles 13.42
2nd 400 m hurdles 56.29
Bolivarian Games Santa Marta, Colombia 3rd 400 m hurdles 58.14
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 45.96
2018 South American Games Cochabamba, Bolivia 2nd 400 m hurdles 56.86
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:31.87
Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla, Colombia 7th 400 m hurdles 56.57
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.61
2019 South American Championships Lima, Peru 1st 400 m hurdles 55.73
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 44.97
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.81
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 9th (h) 400 m hurdles 56.78
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:33.02
World Championships Doha, Qatar 26th (h) 400 m hurdles 56.49
2021 South American Championships Guayaquil, Ecuador 1st 400 m hurdles 55.68
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:31.04
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 20th (sf) 400 m hurdles 57.47
2022 Ibero-American Championships La Nucía, Spain 1st 400 m hurdles 54.87
World Championships Eugene, United States 17th (sf) 400 m hurdles 55.13

Personal life

Gonzalez is a Roman Catholic.[2] She is a citizen of both the United States and Colombia and married American football quarterback David Blough in March 2019.[3][4] Her father Hector is 6-foot-9 and played college basketball at the University of Texas at El Paso before playing semiprofessionally in Colombia. Gonzalez has two sisters, Samatha and Lily, and a brother, Christian. Samatha also represents Colombia in international events and was a college All-American in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the University of Miami, while Christian played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon Ducks before being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.[5][6]

References

  1. "2018 South American Games bio". Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  2. Shields, Catholic (9 July 2021). "Melissa Gonzalez, wife of Cardinals QB David Blough, will represent Colombia at Olympics, aim to share Christ". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  3. Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2023 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 247. Retrieved April 10, 2022. Melissa holds dual citizenship in the United States and Colombia
  4. Bulio, Henrique. "How long have David Blough and Melissa Gonzalez been together?". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. Heisen, Aaron. "No matter what, Christian Gonzalez gives everything he's got". Daily Emerald. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  6. Lozano, Juan. "Oregon's Christian Gonzalez crushed old team". Our Esquina. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.