Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, GCIH, GCM (; born 29 June 1958) is a Portuguese former

marathon runner The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, one of her country's foremost

athletes An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-develo ...

, being the first sportswoman from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

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 the

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of the organisers of long-distance road running races. It was founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors. Its membership w ...

(AIMS) she was distinguished as the greatest female marathon runner of all time.

Biography

Born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

's downtown neighbourhood of Foz Velha, Rosa started participating in cross-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 the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

of 1982, hosted by

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, Greece - the first Women's Marathon ever. Mota was not one of the favourites for

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, but she easily beat

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...

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 the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

in the first Women's Olympic Marathon in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Her personal best time was 2:23:29 in the 1985

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

. Mota won the Chicago Marathon twice. European Champion in 1986, and World Champion in Rome, 1987, she kept on winning with the Olympic gold medal in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

1988, where with 2 km left in the race, she attacked, winning by 13 seconds from

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

ist Lisa Martin. In 1990, she returned to Boston to win for a third time beating

Uta Pippig Uta Pippig (born 7 September 1965) is a retired German long-distance runner, and the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon three consecutive times (1994–1996). She also won the Berlin Marathon three times (1990, 1992 and 1995); the ...

. After that she attempted to defend her European 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 by

Valentina Yegorova Valentina Mikhailovna Yegorova (russian: Валентина Михайловна Егорова, born 16 February 1964) is a long-distance runner from Russia. She was born in Cheboksary. Her first medal in the marathon came at the 1990 European ...

. They battled to the finish and Mota won by a slim margin of 5 seconds. As of 2006, winning a third European Championships marathon was unprecedented for both men and women. She won the 1991 Lisbon Half Marathon Despite all her success Rosa Mota was suffering from

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities like heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often described ...

and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

as a child, yet, in 1991, she continued winning, this time the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

. Later that year, Mota had to abandon the Tokyo 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.

Achievements

After retirement

Considered an Ambassador of Sport, in 1998 she won the

Abebe Bikila Award The Abebe Bikila Award is an annual prize given by the New York Road Runners club (NYRR) to honour individuals who have made a significant contribution to the sport of long-distance running. The first recipient of the award was Ted Corbitt, a fou ...

for contributions to the development of long-distance race training. The trophy was awarded at the end of the International Race for Friendship, sponsored by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

, taking place in the morning before the

1998 New York City Marathon The 1998 New York City Marathon was the 29th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 1. The men's elite race was won by Kenya's John Kagwe in a time of 2:08:45 hours while the wome ...

. Rosa Mota was one of the most popular personalities of Portuguese sport in the late 20th century, alongside

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

Carlos Lopes Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner. He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olym ...

and

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one ...

. Rosa Mota carried the

Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

along the roads of Athens before the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Greece.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mota, Rosa 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Porto Portuguese female long-distance runners Portuguese female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Portugal Olympic gold medalists for Portugal Olympic bronze medalists for Portugal Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Portugal World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Boston Marathon female winners Chicago Marathon female winners London Marathon female winners World Athletics Championships winners