Érika Alejandra Olivera de la Fuente (born 4 January 1976 in Quinta Normal) is a female

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and deputy for the Democrats party. She has competed at five Olympic Games, the most Olympic appearances ever by a female marathon runner.

Career

She took the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

, setting a Pan American Games record at 2:37.41 hours. She won a bronze at the following edition in 2003. Starting in 1996, she represented her native country in three consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, and also the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Olivera made her breakthrough at the junior level in 1994 when she won the 10,000 metres gold and

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

bronze medals at the South American Junior Championships in Athletics. The following year she upgraded to a gold and a silver medal at the Pan American Junior Championships, before going on to complete a hat-trick of medals at the South American Junior Championships – she secured a 10,000 m and 3000 m double and also won the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

silver behind Bertha Sánchez. Olivera is a two-time winner of the South American Cross Country Championships, having beaten all comers in both the long and short races in 1999.Continental Cross Country Championships and Cups
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-02. She is a five-time winner and course record holder of the Santiago Marathon. She won the 1995 edition of the Buenos Aires Marathon in Argentina and placed fourth at the 74th Saint Silvester Marathon in 1998. She enjoyed success on the track at continental level, completing a 10,000 metres/

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 sta ...

silver medal double at both the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and 2003 South American Championships in Athletics. Further to this, she won a silver and a bronze at the 1999 edition of the competition. At the Ibero-American Championships, she has won medals in a number of events, beginning with a 5000 m gold medal and 10,000 m bronze in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, the 10,000 m gold at the 2000 edition, and finally a silver medal in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. Her personal best for the marathon is 2:32:23, set at the 1999 Rotterdam Marathon, which is also the Chilean record for the event. She is also the national record holder over the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

, 10,000 m and 5000 m. After completing the

at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, Olivera became the first female athlete ever in completing five olympic marathons. Immediately after the race, she announced her retirement from competitive athletics. In November 2016, Olivera announced that her last race as a professional will be at the 2017 Santiago Marathon, on which she completed the half-marathon in 1:38:17.

Personal life

Erika Olivera was married with Ricardo Opazo, who was also her coach. Currently her partner is Chilean marathoner Leslie Encina. She has five children. The athlete has always been critical with regard to sports financing in

, indicating the lack of financial support that she has had to overcome during her athletic career. In 2015 Olivera manifested her intention of starting a political career once she finishes her athletic profession, considering that she will attempt to become a member of the Chilean Congress Cámara de Diputados de Chile, and showing interest in the Renovación Nacional (RN) party. In 2016 Olivera revealed that her stepfather had sexually abused her during twelve years of her childhood. In the 2017 Chilean general election, Oliveira was elected as a deputy for the RN with 30,784 votes, representing

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...

which includes Quinta Normal,

Cerro Navia Cerro Navia ( Spanish for "Navia Hill") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most densely populated communes of Santiago, Chile. History Officially established on March 17, 1981, ...

, Renca, Lo Prado, Recoleta, Independencia, Huechuraba, and

Conchalí Conchalí () is a commune of Chile in Santiago Province, within the Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is located in the northern part of the city of Santiago. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Conc ...

. She gained controversy after she compared the campaign of former presidential candidate Alejandro Guillier to the government of Venezuelan president

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

Olympic results

Note: Olivera missed the

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

due to pregnancy.

Personal bests

*1500 m: 4:25.61 –

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an important ...

, 11 April 1997 *3000 m: 9:21.73 –

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, 1 May 1999 *5000 m: 15:51.45 –

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, 20 May 2000 *10,000 m: 33:23.12 – Concepción, 30 November 1996 *Half marathon: 1:11:54 –

, 10 September 2000 *Marathon: 2:32:23 –

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, 18 April 1999 *3000 m steeplechase: 10:48.75–

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, 11 May 2002

International competitions

References

External links