Elsa Marisa Branco Barros (born 25 February 1980), known as Marisa Barros, is a Portuguese

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who specialises in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

running. Her personal best for the distance is 2:25:04 hours. She ran for her country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

in 2008 and 2012 and ranked in the top ten in the marathon at

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

in 2009 and 2011. On the road circuit, she has won marathons in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Career

Born in

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

, Barros was a national level runner in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

and the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

in her early twenties. The 2007 season, where she changed from track races towards road races saw her rise in prominence. In the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

she beat all opposition at the Setúbal Half Marathon, running a time of 1:13:54. She ran at the

Porto Half Marathon The Porto Half Marathon ( Portuguese: ''Meia-Maratona do Porto'') is an annual half marathon road running event held in Porto, Portugal which follows the River Douro. Known as the Hyundai Porto Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, the inaugural ...

, where she claimed third place, that September and was the runner-up at the Ovar Half Marathon behind

Fernanda Ribeiro Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH (; born 23 June 1969), is a long-distance runner born in Penafiel, Portugal. The pinnacle of her career was at the 1996 Summer Olympics when she won the women's 10000 m gold medal, establishing a new Olympi ...

in October. A

debut followed two weeks later and she won on her first attempt, taking the top honours at the

Porto Marathon The Porto Marathon is an annual marathon race in the city of Porto, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in contin ...

.Barros Marisa
Marathon Info. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. In 2008, she ran a half marathon in Pombal, finishing behind

Inês Monteiro Inês Alexandra das Neves Monteiro (born 18 May 1980) is a Portuguese athlete who competes in middle and long-distance track running, as well as road running and cross country. She started out as a cross country runner, winning a silver a ...

and then went on to represent Portugal in the marathon at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, finishing in 32nd place. Barros showed significant improvements at the

Seville Marathon The Zurich Seville Marathon is a marathon held annually in the streets of Seville, Spain since 1985. It is organized by the department of sports of the town hall and sponsored by both public and private organizations. It was used as a host of the ...

in February 2009 with a significant personal best of 2:26:03, winning the national title. She competed in a 10K road event at the

2009 Lusophony Games The 2009 Lusofonia Games was the 2nd Lusofonia Games (), a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic committees. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009. The Pavilhão Atlântico acted ...

and was second behind Ribeiro. Later that season she went on to take sixth place at the 2009 World Championships Marathon as the first European finisher. Her first race of 2010 was the

Osaka Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

and she improved her time to 2:25:45, finishing as runner-up to

Amane Gobena Amane Gobena Gemeda (born 11 September 1982)Amane Gobena
. Elite Sports Management International. Retrieved ...

. Barros underperformed in the event at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

as she was ten minutes off her best time and had to settle for eighth place. She ran in the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shie ...

in September 2010 and took third place with a time of 1:09:09, behind compatriot

Ana Dulce Félix Ana Dulce Ferreira Félix (born 23 October 1982) is a Portuguese long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events. She ran the Olympic marathon in 2012 and 2016 and placed 21st and 16th, respectively.

. The

2010 European Cross Country Championships The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition he ...

were held on home turf in

Albufeira Albufeira (, ), officially the City of Albufeira (), is a List of cities in Portugal, city and Concelho, municipality of Faro District in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper ...

and Barros ran for the hosts, taking sixth place overall and helping the Portuguese women to the team title, alongside race winner Jessica Augusto. She ran at the 2011

Yokohama Women's Marathon The Yokohama Women's Marathon was a marathon held in Yokohama, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, TV Asahi, the Asahi Shimbun. It is one of the major Japanese women's marathon races which is used to decide selection fo ...

and took third place, improving her personal best time to 2:25:04. She came ninth in the marathon at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

and also placed fifth at that year's

. The next year she took thirteenth place in the 2012 London Olympic marathon with a run of 2:26:13 and once again came third in Yokohama.Nakamura, Ken (2012-11-18)
Cheromei breaks course record in Yokohama
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-14.

International competition record

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barros, Marisa 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Paços de Ferreira Portuguese female long-distance runners Portuguese female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Portugal S.L. Benfica athletes 21st-century Portuguese sportswomen