 Rosa Mota in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota |
| Born | (1958-06-29)29 June 1958 (age 67) Porto, Portugal |
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Weight | 99 lb (45 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field athletics |
Event | Marathon |
| Retired | 1992 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 1988 – Gold |
Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota,GCIH,GCM (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈʁɔzɐˈmɔtɐ]; born 29 June 1958) is a Portuguese formermarathon runner, one of her country's foremostathletes, being the first sportswoman fromPortugal to win Olympic gold. Mota was the first woman to win multiple Olympic marathon medals as well as being the only woman to be the reigning European, World, and Olympic champion at the same time. On the 30th Anniversary Gala of theAssociation of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) she was distinguished as the greatest female marathon runner of all time.[1]
Born inPorto's downtown neighbourhood of Foz Velha, Rosa started participating incross-country races while in high school.
In 1980 she met José Pedrosa, the man who would eventually be her personal trainer for her entire career. Rosa Mota's first marathon was at theEuropean Championships of 1982, hosted byAthens, Greece - the first Women's Marathon ever. Mota was not one of the favourites forgold, but she easily beatIngrid Kristiansen to win her first marathon.
This success was typical of Rosa Mota's career, as she usually finished well in the prestigious marathons. She was awarded thebronze medal in the first Women's Olympic Marathon in theLos Angeles Olympic Games. Her personal best time was 2:23:29 in the 1985Chicago Marathon.[2] Mota won the Chicago Marathon twice.
European Champion in 1986, andWorld Champion in Rome, 1987, she kept on winning with the Olympic gold medal inSeoul 1988, where with 2 km left in the race, she attacked, winning by 13 seconds fromsilver medalistLisa Martin.
In 1990, she returned to Boston to win for a third time beatingUta Pippig. After that she attempted to defend herEuropean Marathon Championship in Split. She ran from the front and had a lead of over 1.5 minutes at the half way mark, but she was caught at the 35 km mark byValentina Yegorova. They battled to the finish and Mota won by a slim margin of five seconds. As of 2006, winning a third European Championships marathon was unprecedented for both men and women. She won the1991 Lisbon Half Marathon[3]
Despite all her success Rosa Mota was suffering fromsciatica andasthma as a child, yet, in 1991, she continued winning, this time theLondon Marathon. Later that year, Mota had to abandon theTokyo World championships and she finally considered retirement after failing to finish the 1992 London Marathon.
Mota ran 21 marathon races between 1982 and 1992. She averaged two marathons a year for a decade and won 14 of those races.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Portugal | |||||
| 1982 | European Championships | Athens, Greece | 1st | Marathon | 2:36:04 |
| 1983 | Rotterdam Marathon | Rotterdam, the Netherlands | 1st | Marathon | 2:32:27 |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 4th | Marathon | 2:31:50 | |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:31:12 | |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 3rd | Marathon | 2:26:57 |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:26:01 | |
| 1985 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 3rd | Marathon | 2:23:29 |
| 1986 | Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | Marathon | 2:27:15 |
| European Championships | Stuttgart, West Germany | 1st | Marathon | 2:28:38 | |
| 1987 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:21 |
| World Championships | Rome, Italy | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:17 | |
| 1988 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:24:30 |
| Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:40 | |
| 1989 | Osaka Marathon | Osaka, Japan | -- | Marathon | DNF |
| Los Angeles Marathon | Los Angeles, United States | 2nd | Marathon | 2:35:27 | |
| 1990 | Osaka Marathon | Osaka, Japan | 1st | Marathon | 2:27:47 |
| Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:24 | |
| European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 1st | Marathon | 2:31:27 | |
| 1991 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 1st | Marathon | 2:26:14 |
| World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | -- | Marathon | DNF | |
| Lisbon Half Marathon | Lisbon, Portugal | 1st | Half marathon | 1:09:52 | |
| 1992 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | -- | Marathon | DNF |
Considered an Ambassador of Sport, in 1998 she won theAbebe Bikila Award for contributions to the development of long-distance race training. The trophy was awarded at the end of theInternational Race for Friendship, sponsored by theUnited Nations, taking place in the morning before the1998 New York City Marathon.
Rosa Mota was one of the most popular personalities of Portuguese sport in the late 20th century, alongsideEusébio,Carlos Lopes andLuís Figo.
Rosa Mota carried theOlympic flame along the roads of Athens before the2004 Summer Olympics in Greece.
In recent years Rosa Mota has returned to competitions, winning theMacau mini-marathon (6.3km) 4 times (2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024)[4] and breaking the 10.000m record for women 65-69 year old multiple times[5] with a best time of 35:37 in theLisbon São Silvestre race.[6]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Nobre Guedes Olympic Medal 1981 | Succeeded by |
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| Marathon |
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|---|---|
| Half marathon |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
