Olga Appell Avalos (born August 2, 1963, in Durango) is an American long-distance runner from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, best known for winning the gold medal in the women's marathon at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a mul ...

in Havana, Cuba. She ran at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

the following year, but failed to finish the race. She competed for Mexico until February 25, 1994, at which point she switched allegiance to the United States. She represented her adopted country at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. There she was eliminated in the qualifying heats of the women's 10,000 metres event. She won the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, a ...

in 1994. Among her wins on the

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

circuit were the 1993

Sapporo Half Marathon The was an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which took place each July in Sapporo, Japan. First held in 1958, the race began as a full marathon competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. Th ...

, 1994

Lilac Bloomsday Run The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi). The run has had over 38,000 participants every ...

and 1995

Vancouver Sun Run The Vancouver Sun Run, owned by Run Vancouver Holdings ULC and sponsored by ''The Vancouver Sun'' newspaper, is a 10-kilometre road running event held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, each year on the third (sometimes the fourth) Sunday i ...

. She won the

Hokkaido Marathon The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year. The staging area as well as both the start and finish lines are in Odori Park starting between Nishi 3-chome and Nishi 4-chome and the fi ...

on two occasions, 1992 and 1995 (the second time as a naturalized U.S. citizen) and was the 1996 winner of the

Twin Cities Marathon The Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) is an annual marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that win ...

. Olga Appell is the 12th best marathoner in USA History.http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/All-Time-Lists/MarathonWomen.aspx

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Durango People from Durango City American female long-distance runners American female cross country runners Mexican female long-distance runners Mexican female cross country runners American sportspeople of Mexican descent Mexican emigrants to the United States Olympic athletes of Mexico Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Mexico Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games 21st-century American women {{mexico-athletics-bio-stub