One of the all time great athletes in India, Anju Bobby George was born on April 19, 1977, in the Cheeranchira Kochuparambil family in Changanassery, Kerala. Her father`s name is K. T. Markose and her mother is Gracy. After her father initiated her to athletics, Anju Bobby George`s trainer in CKM Koruthode School, Mr. Thomas, further developed her interest. Anju did her schooling in the St. Ann`s High School and CKM Koruthode School and then graduated from the Vimala College. She studied in the Calicut University at post graduation level. Her talent in Athletics was first identified at an early stage of her life, when she won the 100 m hurdles and relay in the School Athletic meet in 1991-92. She also stood second in long jump and high jump events, and eventually became the women`s champion. After that, she went on to prove her talent in the national schools games by winning third place in 100 m hurdles and 4x100 m relay.

Anju Bobby George started her professional career in Athletics, with Heptathlon. However, soon she started to concentrate more on jump events and got her first major success in the 1996 Delhi Junior Asian Championship. She won the Long Jump medal in that championship. Anju got another major success in 1999, when she set the National Record for Triple Jump in the Bangalore Federation Cup. She also claimed the Silver medal at the South Asian Federation Games in Nepal. She continued to perform well in different championships and in 2001; she broke her own National Record and set a new one in the National Circuit Meet at Thiruvananthapuram. She crossed a distance of 6.74 m in the Long Jump event in that meet. She also won Gold medal in Triple Jump and Long Jump in the Ludhiana National Games, in the same year. She dominated everyone in her events in the Hyderabad National Games, as well.

After gaining significant success at the national and regional level, Anju Bobby George gradually became a name in the international Athletics meets from 2002. She won the Bronze medal by clearing 6.49 m at the 2002 Commonwealth Games at Manchester. She also won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Busan, in the same year. The year 2003 presented most memorable moment of her career and also one of the greatest moments in the history of Indian Athletics. Anju made history by winning the bronze medal in Long Jump clearing 6.70 m at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. She became becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championship in Athletics. This achievement boosted her confidence further and she went on to achieve her personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens. That performance brought her the sixth position in the Athens Olympics.

Anju Bobby George won the Gold medal in the women`s Long Jump at the 16th Asian Athletics Championship in Incheon City of South Korea with a leap of 6.65 metres.. She also won the Silver medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in 2005; by clearing 6.75 m. Anju Bobby George considers this performance to be her best performance ever. After that, Anju won Silver medal in women`s Long Jump in the 15th Asian Games, 2006, held at Doha. Her wonderful performance continued in 2007 also, when she won Silver medal in the 17th Asian Athletics Championship at Amman (Jordan) with a jump of 6.65m. She also got qualified for the Osaka World Championship in August 2007, with this performance. However, she could not do much well and finished 9th in the Osaka World Championship.

The year 2008, started well for Anju Bobby George, as she won the Silver medal in 3rd Asian Indoor Championship in athletics at Doha (Qatar). She crossed a distance of 6.38m in the championship. She improved her performance in the 3rd South Asian Athletics Championship at Kochi (Kerala, India) and won the Gold medal by clearing a distance of 6.50 m. However, Anju has suffered from serious injuries throughout her career and that has caused great harm to her performances. Though, she did qualify to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, however failed to qualify for the final event of women`s Long Jump. She was disqualified for fouling in all her three attempts, in the hits of the event.

Sheer hard work and intensive planning helped Anju Bobby George to reach her highest ever World ranking of No. 4, in May-June, 2004. She was considered to be one of the best Athletes in the world during that period. Her rankings rose from No. 61 in 2001 to No. 6 in 2006, mainly due to her determination and hard work. Anju Bobby George gives most of the credit for her success, to her husband, Bobby George. Bobby George was also a successful Athlete and a former National Champion in Triple Jump. He ended his career in 1998 and has been a full time coach to Anju, since then. Apart from Bobby, Anju has also taken coaching from the internationally renowned Athletics coach, Mike Powell.

Anju Bobby George`s extraordinary talent and wonderful consistent performances at the national, regional and international championships have brought her several prestigious awards in India. Anju Bobby George is always considered as one of the most successful Athletes in the history of Indian Athletics. The great success and milestones that she has achieved in her career have encouraged many more young Indians to take up Athletics seriously, as a career option. She has also added glory of India, by performing extraordinarily in various international Athletics meets. She is currently associated with the Customs department in India.

A list of the awards Anju Bobby George won is given below:

Year	Awards
2002-03	Arjuna Award
2003-04	Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
2004	Padma Shri
2004 & 2005	Hero Sports Academy Awards- Sports Woman of the year
2004	Jimmy George Award
2003	Mathrubhumi Star of the year
2001 & 2002	The best female Athlete National Games