Norma Enriqueta "Queta" Basilio Sotelo (15 July 1948 – 26 October 2019), was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

track and field athlete. She was born in Mexicali, capital of Baja California. She came from an athletic family; her father was a cotton farmer. Her Polish coach, Vladimir Puzio, moved her from high jumping to hurdling. She made history by becoming the first woman to light the Olympic Cauldron. She was the last torch-bearer of the 19th Summer Olympics in Mexico City on 12 October 1968. She was a national athletics champion and record-holder in 80 metres hurdles and finished seventh in this event at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

. At the 1968 Olympics she was eliminated in the heats of the 400 metres, 80 metres hurdles and 4 × 100 metres relay events.Enriqueta Basilio
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-05. In 1970, she took bronze in the Central American Games 4 x 100m relay. She married the basketball player Mario Álvarez, who was later secretary to the Oaxaca state governor. She was widowed with three young children when he died in an aeroplane accident. She studied sociology at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

and became a federal deputy for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during the LVIII Legislature of the Mexican Congress. She became a permanent member of the Mexico Olympic Committee and was part of the 2004 Olympic torch relay when it was passing through Mexico City. In 2014, she was amongst 6,500 people defrauded of their savings in a money-lending business scam. She died of pneumonia on 26 October 2019, aged 71. On 15 October 2020, the small moon of trojan asteroid 3548 Eurybates was named ''Queta'' after her, making her the first Olympic athlete honored in this way.

References

External links

The Mexican Legislative Branch Official Website
*Sánchez Hidalgo, "Nuestros Juegos México 68", Published by "Comité Olímpico Mexicano" (Mexican Olympic Committee). 2003

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilio, Enriqueta 1948 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Mexicali Mexican female sprinters Mexican female hurdlers Olympic athletes of Mexico Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games competitors for Mexico Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Competitors at the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Mexico Olympic cauldron lighters 21st-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians Politicians from Baja California Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Deputies of the LVIII Legislature of Mexico