Rosa Mota

Rosa Mota ( [ ʁɵzɐ mɵtɐ ], Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, born June 29, 1958 in Porto ) is a former Portuguese long-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist.

It started during their school time to participate in cross races. In 1980 she met Pedro Pedrosa, the man who was her personal trainer to the end of their sports career. At the European Championships in 1982 in Athens a marathon for women was held at international championships for the first time. It was also Mota's first marathon ever, in which she beat the favorite Ingrid Kristiansen. They could defend your title in Split at the European Championships in 1986 in Stuttgart and at the European Championships in 1990.

At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won the bronze medal, one year later, she presented at the Chicago Marathon, which she had won in the previous two years, her personal best of 2:23:29 on, but was only third behind Joan Benoit and Ingrid Kristiansen.

At the World Athletics Championships 1987, she won the marathon seven -minute gap on runner-up, and at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul she crowned her career with the Olympic gold medal.

Three times she won the Boston Marathon (1987, 1988 and 1990), once the Tokyo International Women's Marathon ( 1986), and in 1991 she won the conclusion of their performance sporting career the London Marathon.

A nossa Rosinha ( " our little Rosa" ), as it is sometimes called by their compatriots, is one of the most famous Portuguese sports personalities ever, next to Eusébio, Carlos Lopes and Luís Figo. For its development of long-distance training methods, she received the Abebe Bikila Award -.

Prior to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she was wearing a short distance the Olympic torch. Rosa Mota committed to various charitable organizations and was a member of the Portuguese Parliament.