Norma Enriqueta "Queta" Basilio Sotelo (15 July 1948 – 26 October 2019), was a Mexican track and field athlete. She was born in Mexicali, capital of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. She came from an athletic family; her father was a cotton farmer. Her Polish coach, Vladimir Puzio, moved her from high jumping to hurdling. She made history by becoming the first woman to light the

Olympic Cauldron The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

. She was the last torch-bearer of the 19th Summer Olympics in Mexico City on 12 October 1968. She was a national athletics champion and record-holder in 80 metres hurdles and finished seventh in this event at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chica ...

. At the 1968 Olympics she was eliminated in the heats of the 400 metres, 80 metres hurdles and 4 × 100 metres relay events.Enriqueta Basilio
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-05. In 1970, she took bronze in the

Central American Games The Central American Games ( es, Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos) are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the first year after Summer Olympics. The Games are open for member federation ...

4 x 100m relay. She married the basketball player Mario Álvarez, who was later secretary to the Oaxaca state governor. She was widowed with three young children when he died in an aeroplane accident. She studied sociology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and became a federal deputy for the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

(PRI) during the

LVIII Legislature of the Mexican Congress The LVIII Legislature of the Congress of Mexico met from September 1, 2000, to August 31, 2003. All members of the LVIII Legislature were elected in the elections of July 2000. Senators of the LVIII Legislature By state Plurinominal Senator ...

. She became a permanent member of the Mexico Olympic Committee and was part of the 2004 Olympic torch relay when it was passing through Mexico City. In 2014, she was amongst 6,500 people defrauded of their savings in a money-lending business scam. She died of pneumonia on 26 October 2019, aged 71. On 15 October 2020, the small moon of

trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

asteroid

3548 Eurybates 3548 Eurybates ( ) is a carbonaceous Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp and the parent body of the Eurybates family, approximately in diameter. It is a target to be visited by the ''Lucy'' mission in August 2027. Discovered during the second ...

was named ''Queta'' after her, making her the first Olympic athlete honored in this way.

References

External links

The Mexican Legislative Branch Official Website
*Sánchez Hidalgo, "Nuestros Juegos México 68", Published by "Comité Olímpico Mexicano" (Mexican Olympic Committee). 2003

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilio, Enriqueta 1948 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Mexicali Mexican female sprinters Mexican female hurdlers Olympic athletes of Mexico Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games competitors for Mexico Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Competitors at the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Mexico Olympic cauldron lighters 21st-century Mexican politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians Politicians from Baja California Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Deputies of the LVIII Legislature of Mexico