Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes,
GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former
long-distance runner.
He won the
marathon at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, becoming
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olympic record for the event.
In 1985, Lopes set the marathon world record at 2:07:12 at the
Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...
.
Early life
Lopes was born in Vildemoinhos, near
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...
, Portugal. He worked as a stonecutter's helper.
Lopes wanted to play
football at his local club, but his father opposed this, so he turned to other forms of athletics. In 1967 he was invited to join the athletics team of
Sporting Clube de Portugal, and remained there until the end of his career in 1985.
Career
Lopes won the
World Cross Country Championships in
Chepstow
Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in 1976.
At the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 P ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Lopes competed in the 10,000 metres. In the race, Lopes set the pace from the 4000 metres mark, and the only athlete to follow him was defending double Olympic champion
Lasse Virén. Virén passed Lopes with a lap to go to win the gold medal, and Lopes finished a comfortable second.
During the race, Lopes ran the first 5,000 metres in 14:08.94, and the second 5,000 metres in 13:36.23, a remarkable proof of his ability to steadily accelerate his pace. What he generally lacked in the track races, however, was an ability to sharply increase his pace in the final lap or so.
In the following year, Lopes finished second to
Leon Schots
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
in World Cross Country Championships in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Afterward, Lopes had several injuries and did not qualify for
1980 Summer Olympics in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
.
In 1982, Lopes returned to top form, and in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, he broke the 10,000 metres European record with a time of 27:24.39, which belonged to his teammate
Fernando Mamede.
At the
1982 European Athletics Championships
The 13th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 September to 12 September 1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald.
Men's results
Compl ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, Lopes finished fourth in the 10,000 metres with a time of 27:47.95, behind the winner
Alberto Cova
Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alber ...
. During the race, he set the pace from 6,000 metres to 9,800 metres before being overtaken on the final lap.
Lopes attempted his first marathon at the 1982
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...
, but he did not finish due to an accident in which he ran into a spectator.
In 1983, he finished second at the World Cross Country Championships in
Gateshead,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Lopes ran his second marathon at the
Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...
in 1983. He finished second in a European record time of 2:08:39, two seconds behind the race winner,
Robert de Castella. He then decided to run the 10,000 metres at the
1983 World Championships in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, where he finished sixth behind the winner Alberto Cova. After that he decided to concentrate on the marathon and cross country.
In 1984, Lopes won his second World Cross Country Championships in
East Rutherford
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census. ,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. In
Stockholm,
Sweden, he paced teammate Fernando Mamede to break
Henry Rono
Henry Rono (born 12 February 1952, in Kapsabet) is a Kenyan retired track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific colle ...
's 10,000 metres world record of 27:22.50. Mamede won in 27:13.81 with Lopes finishing second in 27:17.48.
An accident almost prevented Lopes from participating in the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
when, a week before the Games, he was run over by a car in
Lisbon but he was not hurt.
The Olympic marathon at
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
was run in very warm conditions, and as the favorites gradually fell away, Lopes won the gold medal with a 200 metres advantage and in an Olympic record time of 2:09:21 at the age of 37. This victory established his reputation as a world class runner, because he ran the last at an average speed of 2:55 per km (4:42 per mile), a remarkably quick pace at the end of a marathon.
Lopes' Olympic record stood until the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China, when Kenyan
Sammy Wanjiru won with a time of 2:06:32.
In 1985, Lopes won the World Cross Country Championships in
Lisbon,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
for the third and final time in his career.
In the last major competitive race of his career, the 1985
Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...
, Lopes took 53 seconds off the world's best marathon time with a winning time of 2:07.12, and becoming the first man to run 42.195 km in less than 2:08.00.
* L'Équipe: ''"Fantastic! Extraordinary! There aren't enough strong words to label Lopes Rotterdam achievement. In less than 3 years, he became the first man to approach the unreal. Who would think, 20 years ago, that a man would run the marathon at 20 km/h?"'
* Rotterdam press: ''"With his magic talent, Carlos Lopes took 54 seconds off the previous world best. With his fabulous pace he reached the world record with apparent ease. It's said he received US$150,000 just to come to Rotterdam, plus US$67,000 in prizes. A lot of money for a single man. But, in marathon's fantasy world, only a man—aged 38—is able to run it in 2:07.12: Carlos Lopes".''
Orders
*
Grand Cross of the
Order of Prince Henry
Popular culture
* Lopes appears in the
14th episode of
season 12 of
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
, as Homer is watching a documentary about the Olympics' greatest moments on TV. Lopes is credited with being the oldest ever winner of the marathon, at 38, and inspires Homer, who claims to be almost his age, to enter the Springfield Marathon. Lopes was actually 37 when he won the 1984 Olympic marathon.
References
External links
ProfileLisbon 2005/Carlos Lopes – Gold Marathon Memorialwww.olympics.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Carlos
1947 births
Living people
Portuguese male long-distance runners
Portuguese male marathon runners
Olympic athletes of Portugal
Olympic gold medalists for Portugal
Olympic silver medalists for Portugal
Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
People from Viseu
World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners
World Athletics Championships athletes for Portugal
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Portuguese male cross country runners
Sportspeople from Viseu District