Maria Albertina da Costa Dias Pereira (born 26 April 1965 in Miragaia) is a former

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

long-distance runner. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988. She was the first female Portuguese world champion in cross country running, having won the long race at the

1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Amorebieta, Spain, at the Jaureguibarría Course on March 28, 1993. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times'' and in the Herald. Complete results for senior men, ...

Career

She finished tenth in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Her first real successes came in cross country running: she won the long race individual silver and the team bronze at the 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.World and World Student Cross Country Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-02. Dias won the

Eurocross Eurocross is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Diekirch, Luxembourg in February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. ...

meeting in 1991Civai, Franco & Gasparovic, Juraj (2009-02-28)
Eurocross 10.2 km (men) + 5.3 km (women)
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-03-01. and went on to take sixth place at the 1991 Cross Country Championships. Competing at the world indoors for the first time, she finished in fourth place in the 3000 metres at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

. At her first outdoor

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

in 1991, she failed to finish in the 10,000 metres final. Her second world medal, a bronze, came at the

1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, at the Franklin Park on March 21, 1992. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times''. Complete results for senior men, junior men ...

long race. Dias attended her second Olympics, the 1992 Barcelona Games and finished in 13th at the 10,000 metres final. She won the

long race the following year, becoming the first Portuguese woman to ever complete the feat. She won the Olympic Medal Nobre Guedes as a result. She failed to match this feat at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...

as she finished seventh in the 10,000 m. A fifth-place finish at the

1994 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1994 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Budapest, Hungary, at the Kincsem Park on March 26, 1994. A preview on the event was given in the Herald, and a report in ''The New York Times''. Complete results for senior men, ...

was enough for a team gold with Portugal, led by

Conceição Ferreira Maria Conceição da Costa Ferreira (born 13 March 1962 in Aveleda) is a retired Portuguese long-distance runner. She won the 1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, and finished sixth in 10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-met ...

. She began competing 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 shortcut ...

and took fourth place at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She took part in her third World Athletics Championships but again failed to finish the 10,000 metres final at the 1995 Championships. After a fifth-place finish at the 1996 European Cross Country Championships, she ran in her third Olympics for Portugal – this time in the Olympic marathon race. She finished in 27th place, out-performed by compatriot Manuela Machado, who took 7th. An eleventh place at the

1998 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 7th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on September 27, 1998, in the city of Uster, Switzerland. A total of 236 athletes, 139 men and 97 women, from 54 countries took part. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the res ...

and seventh place with a team gold at the 1998 European Cross Country Championships brought a close to her career.

International competitions

References

;General
Profile

External links

from ''Irish Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Albertina 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Porto Portuguese female marathon runners Portuguese female long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Portugal Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Portugal World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners