Álvaro Mejía Florez (15 May 1940 – 12 January 2021) was a long-distance runner from Colombia, who became a national hero after competing in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games 5,000 meter final. Mejía competed in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in the 10,000 meters, where he placed tenth, and in the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, where he ran the marathon. Mejía also won the 1971 Boston Marathon in two hours, eighteen minutes and 45 seconds. He won a bronze medal at the

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

in the 10,000 metres. Mejía won the Saint Silvester Road Race in 1966.

1971 Boston Marathon winner

In 1971, the 75th edition of the Boston Marathon had one of the closest finishes ever, as Mejía dueled almost the entire way with Pat McMahon, a native of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and local

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resident. Mejía finally pulled away from McMahon less than 150 yards from the finish, clocking 2:18:45, just five seconds ahead of McMahon. He was the first winner from South America.

Coming to America

Mejía was married to Terri Stickles, the American bronze medalist in the 400 meter freestyle swim in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Stickles brought Mejía to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

in 1969. They met in

Cali, Colombia Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

, where Terri was a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

volunteer. From 1969 until 1985, Mejía dispensed running advice along with running shoes and apparel at a sporting goods store ("Olympic Sports") he owned with Stickles in San Mateo, California. During the 1970s, he competed as a member of the local West Valley Track Club (WVTC), at a time when the club often dominated team competition in Northern California. Several Colombian runners followed Mejía to train in Northern California and compete alongside Mejia for WVTC, including Víctor Mora, who placed second in the 1972 Boston Marathon. Mejia has one son, Christopher Mejia, born in 1971 (lives in San Francisco).

Achievements

Coaching

Mejía coached Colombian athletes including Alirio Carrasco, of Bogotá, who ran 2:12:09 at the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

in 2003.

Death

Mejía died in Bogotá on 12 January 2021 at the age of 80.Murió Álvaro Mejía Flórez, exponente del atletismo colombiano

References

External links

*
BostonMarathon.org
- 'Race Summaries',

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

WestValleyTC.org
- "A Confluence of Champions: Mejia, Laris, Anderson, Dare, Clarke, Leydig Highlight WVTC Reunion", Chuck Schneekloth, West Valley Track Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Alvaro 1940 births 2021 deaths Colombian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Olympic athletes of Colombia Pan American Games bronze medalists for Colombia Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Medellín Boston Marathon male winners Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Colombia Competitors at the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games 20th-century Colombian people