Anju Bobby George pulled out of the 52nd national inter-state athletics in Hyderabad, due to an upper respiratory tract infection.
Anju is married to Robert Bobby George, who is a former national champion in triple jump and her coach too.
She is employed with the Customs department in Bangalore.
The couple have a son Aaron and a daughter Andrea.
Anju was appointed as president of the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC).
1977
Anju Bobby George (born 19 April 1977) is a retired Indian athlete.
2002
She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2004.
She received the Arjuna award in 2002–2003 for eminent sportspersons from the government of India and the country's highest sporting honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2003–2004 after her success in the World Athletic meet.
2003
Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris.
Anju made history when she won the bronze medal clearing 6.70 m in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics.
She also won a gold medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.
2004
She had got 5th position with personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In March 2021, Anju won the BBC lifetime achievement award for best athlete in India.
She is also the current vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India.
Anju was born in Kochuparambil family in Cheeranchira village of Changanassery taluk, Kottayam, Kerala, in a Syria Orthodox Christian family, to K. T. Markose.
She achieved her personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens which brought her the fifth position.
This is the current Indian national record.
She was conferred Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2004.
2005
With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics jumping 6.70 m. She went on to win the gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final (a competition between best eight athletes in the world based on the world ranking) in 2005, a performance she considers her best.
Anju was upgraded to the gold status from silver in the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations, following the recent re-testing of the latter's sample collected at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki.
