In 1999 she won the world title in the 5000, setting a meet record of 14 minutes, 41.82 seconds, and was the top contender in the 3000. Throughout that year, she was undefeated at any distance and was one of only two athletes to be undefeated in the Golden League series.

In recognition of her accomplishments, she was awarded the AIPS Sportsman of the Year award and the IAAF Best World Athlete award in 1999. That same year, Szabo also became one of the richest track-and-field athletes of all time, earning over $1 million that year. A writer in Coolrunning noted that Szabo won $500,000 for winning all seven Golden League races, plus $250,000 for gaining the overall Grand Prix title later in the year. Added to other prizes, she totaled $1,015,000 for the season.

Money and Marriage

Szabo, who grew up in a poor town in Transylvania where the average monthly income is $100, was amazed by all this money. She lost much of it by placing it in Romanian banks, several of which later failed. She told the Coolrunning reporter, "I don't know now how much I will earn next year. Perhaps nothing. So I've decided to put my money in foreign banks rather than Romanian ones. I've already had bad experiences with local banks. I don't want any more trouble."

In October of 1999, Szabo confirmed her long-rumored romance with her coach, Zsolt Gyongyossy. The two met when she was 13, when he saw her run in a cross-country race. They were married in a former Romanian palace.

Sydney Olympic Hopes

Although Szabo ran in 19 races in 1999, throughout most of 2000 she cut back her schedule, saving herself for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She told a Reuters reporter, "I'm very keen to win the gold in the 5000 meters at the Olympics. Maybe I'll compete in the 3000 race too, but nothing is sure yet."

At the Sydney Games, Szabo was favored to win the gold medal in the 5000 meters and she did, setting an Olympic record of 14:40.79 and destroying the previous record, set by Wang Jungxia of China in 1996 at 19.09 seconds.

Szabo had been hoping to win the 1500 meters as well, but was beaten by Algerian Nouria Merah-Benida, who took the gold, and Romanian Violeta Szekely, who took silver. During the race, American runner Suzy Favor-Hamilton became ill and fell on the track, disrupting the other runners. Szabo, who won the bronze medal, told Olympics.com that the fall had "upset her finish," but also admitted that running both the 5000 and the 1500 had taken a lot out of her. "One race is best," she said. "It's better than many races with a short recovery." She may be right; no runner has ever won the 1500 and the 3000 or 5000 in the same Olympics.


AWARDS

Silver medal, 1500 meters, Atlanta Olympics, 1996; 1st place, 5000 meters, track and Field World Championships, 1997; 1st place, 5000 meters, World Championship, 1999; winner, overall Grand Prix title, 1999; AIPS Sportsman of the Year, 1999; IAAF Best World Athlete, 1999; gold medal, 5000 meters, Sydney Olympics, 2000; bronze medal, 1500 meters, Sydney Olympics, 2000.