Carlos Lopes

Carlos Lopes ( Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, born February 18, 1947 in Viseu ) is a former Portuguese long-distance runner. It was 1984, the first Olympic champion of his country. In April 1985, he ran a world record in Rotterdam in the marathon.

Lopes ' career began initially unpromising. The European Athletics Championships 1971 in Helsinki he finished only a disappointing 33rd place in the 10,000 -meter run. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, he left in the flow.

Also survived at the 1972 Olympics in Munich Lopes the prelims in the 5000m and 10,000 m not.

His breakthrough Lopes 1976. Already at the beginning of the year he won at the staged in Chepstow World Cross Country Championships. In a race in Munich on May 29, 1976 Lopes improved his personal best in the 10,000 m by 45 seconds 27:45,71 min. This time Lopes traveled as a top favorite for the Olympic Games in Montreal.

In the Olympic final, which was held on 26 July 1976 he was throughout the race at the top of the field and dictating the pace. 450 m before the finish but was overtaken by defending champion Lasse Virén and had, despite a personal best time of 27:45,17 min settle for the silver medal.

Eight years after winning the silver medal Lopes sealed the biggest success of his career. In 1984 he was at the start of the season for the second time world champion in cross-country running and ran on 4 July in Stockholm with 27:17,48 a new best time in the 10,000 m, when he accompanied his compatriot Fernando Mamede at its world record run. Although he had previously denied only three marathons and finished only one of them, he ran as 37- year-old at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the marathon.

In this race Lopes intensified after 34.5 kilometers the pace and ran the next five kilometers in just 14:33 minutes. The lead he held to the finish and won at the end of 35 seconds ahead of the Irishman John Treacy. Lopes was the first Portuguese Olympic champion.

The following year he secured in Lisbon before a home crowd his third world title in cross-country running. On April 20, 1985 Lopes improved the Rotterdam marathon world record of British Steve Jones by 53 seconds 2:07:12 hours. Lopes ' best performance was outbid in the same competition of Belayneh Dinsamo three years later.

See also: On the subject of world best or world records in the marathon see development of the world best and world records