Rita Pulido Castro (born 25 April 1945) is a Spanish former

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. She competed at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

and the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. Pulido was 11 years old when she started to swim. Two years later, she had a swimming coach, and by the time she was 15 years old, she was picked for the

. She became the first

Canarian Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in the region is known as ''habla canaria'' (Ca ...

to compete at the Olympics. She competed in the

100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics, symbolizing the pinnacle of speed and athleticism in swimming competitions. The first swimm ...

, where even though she came last out of all the 32 competitors, her time of 1:10.0 was a new Spanish record. Four years later, she competed in two events at the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In the

, she swam a time of 1:06.7 and finished seventh, so she didn't qualify for the next round. She also competed in the 400 metre freestyle, and although she didn't qualify for the final, she did beat 10 of the other women's time in the heats. Then, not long after her final Olympic appearance, she retired just at the age of 19. She was then married and had five children and 10 grandchildren. In just seven years of swimming, she had competed in 48 international events. One of her children, Natalia Pulido, also competed in swimming at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, making them the only mother-daughter couple to compete for the Spanish Olympic Team.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulido, Rita 1945 births Living people Spanish female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Spain Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Las Palmas 20th-century Spanish sportswomen