Alberto García Fernández (born 22 February 1971 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) is a Spanish long-distance and cross-country runner.

Career

Garcia's top-level athletic career took off when he was already approaching his thirties. He first came to prominence with a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the Mediterranean Games at Bari in 1997. The following year he finished 19th in the short race at the

1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 21/22, 1998. The races were held at the Menara district in Marrakech, Morocco. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAAF. ...

and then finished 49th in the

1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on 27 and 28 March 1999. The races were held at the Barnett Demesne/ Queen's University Playing Fields in Belfast, United Kingdom. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Tim ...

. In the

2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 18/19, 2000. The races were held at the Sporting Complex in Vilamoura, Portugal. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAAF ...

he ran the long race and came in 29th. He failed to qualify for the 5000 metres finals at the 1999 World Championships and

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, but then came fourth in the 5000 metres at the 2001 World Championships and in the following year he became the European 5000 metres champion at the

2002 European Athletics Championships The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was p ...

. After serving a two-year suspension for doping, Garcia returned to competitive athletics. He finished second in the

2005 European Cross Country Championships The 12th European Cross Country Championships were held at Tilburg in Netherlands on 11 December 2005. Serhiy Lebid won the men's competition for the sixth time and Lornah Kiplagat won the women's race. Results Men individual 9.84 km Total ...

behind

Serhiy Lebid Serhiy Lebid or Serhii Lebid ( uk, Сергій Лебідь; born 15 July 1975 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian long-distance runner. Career He has won the European Cross Country championships on nine occasions, winning ...

, and won the

Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños The Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños is a cross country running competition that takes place in Venta de Baños, Castile and León, Spain. The competition was first held in 1980 and since then it has been held every year in mid-December. Amo ...

. On the track, he was unable to reach the best times that he had recorded before his suspension. García competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in 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 stan ...

, but did not qualify from the heats.

Doping history

In May 2003 it was announced that Garcia had tested positive for the banned blood-booster

Erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bo ...

(EPO), following a control carried out on 29 March 2003 at Lausanne after the

2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 29/30, 2003. The races were held at the L'Institut Équestre National in Avenches near Lausanne, Switzerland. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in t ...

. For this he received a two-year ban from competition. On 9 December 2010 García was arrested and questioned in relation to his involvement in a Spanish athletics doping ring as part of Operation Galgo, an investigation being carried out by the

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...

. On release from questioning he strongly denied to the press that he had engaged in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

Records

*1500 m: 3.35,69 (2001) *Mile: 3.58,81 (1998) *2000 m: 4.56,08 (1997) *3000 m: 7.36,53 (2001) *5000 m: 13.02,54 (2001) *10000 m: 27.46,12 (1999)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Alberto 1971 births Living people Spanish male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Spain Doping cases in athletics Spanish sportspeople in doping cases Athletes from Madrid European Athletics Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Spanish Athletics Championships winners

Career

Doping history

Records

See also

References

External links