Carmela Cardama Báez (born 4 December 1996) is a Spanish long-distance runner. She won the 2021 NCAA 10,000 m championship competing for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

. From 2021 to 2024, she was a part of the

On Athletics Club On Athletics Club (OAC) is a training group of professional Distance running, distance runners sponsored by On (company), On. The team is coached by Dathan Ritzenhein and was founded in August 2020 with eight original members. OAC trains primaril ...

Early and personal life

Cardama Báez was born 4 December 1996 in Vigo, Spain. In March 2014, Cardama Báez placed first at the Spanish Junior Indoor Championships over 3000 m. In December, she competed at the

2014 European Cross Country Championships The 2014 European Cross Country Championships was the 21st edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Samokov, Bulgaria, on 14 December 2014. The events were hosted at Borovets – a winter sports and ...

in Samokov, finishing 40th in the U20 race. In 2015, Cardama Báez won the Spanish junior titles over 3000 and 5000 metres. Later that year, she represented Spain at the European Junior Championships in Sweden, taking bronze in the 5000 m.

Collegiate

Florida State (2015–2017)

In the fall of 2015, Cardama Báez enrolled at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

to compete for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. She made her

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

debut on 4 September, finishing third at the Covered Bridge Open in

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...

. She would end her first NCAA cross country season finishing ninth at the ACC Championships and eleventh at the South Regional. In June 2016, Cardama Báez won the Spanish U23 Championship in the 5000 m and represented Spain at the Mediterranean U23 Championships in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, finishing fourth. During the 2016 cross country season, Carmela would improve her position at the ACC Championships and South Regional placing seventh and third respectively. This qualified her for the national meet in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

where she finished 73rd. Cardama Baez would go on to place fourth at the 2017 ACC Championships indoors and out, running a 16:07.49 personal best in the former.

Oregon (2017–2021)

For the 2017 cross country season, Cardama Báez transferred to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

to compete for the Oregon Ducks. She debuted for Oregon on 29 September 2017 placing twelfth at the Dellinger Invitational. At the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Championships on 27 October, she placed 23rd and went on to finish 34th at the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

. Indoors, in 2018, Cardama Báez ran personal bests over 3000 m (9:23.48) and 5000 m (15:55.00). Outdoors, she would make her debut over 10000 m, running 33:36.73 at the Stanford Invitational and finishing fourth at the Pac-12 Championships a month later in 33:24.39. In fall 2018, Carmela would improve upon her previous performances to finish 8th at the Pac-12 cross-country championship and 31st at the national meet. On 9 December, she placed 8th at the

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...

in the U23 race. Cardama Báez opened her 2019 track season with a 32:55.50 personal best over 10000 m at the Stanford Invitational. A month later at the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational, she would run a 15:38.77 5000 m personal best in the 5000 m. She qualified for nationals in both events but chose to just contest the 10000 m at the championship. In

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, at the

2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships was the 98th NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 38th NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in ...

, she would place second, to New Mexico's

Weini Kelati Weini Kelati Frezghi (ወይኒ ቀላቲ ፍረዝጊ) (born December 1, 1996) is an American middle and long distance runner. Born in Eritrea, she claimed asylum in the United States in July 2014 and subsequently achieved multiple victories in ...

. A month later, she competed at the European 10,000 m Cup in London, running a 32:26.43 personal best and finishing sixth. On 7 December, Carmela set a Spanish indoor 5000 m record of 15:25.41 in Boston, setting a 13-second personal best in the process. On 14 May 2021, Cardama Báez won the Pac-12 10000 m title in Los Angeles beating the field by over 10 seconds. The next month at the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

in Eugene, she won her first NCAA title, running a 32:16.13 personal best in the process.

Professional

After her win at the 2021 NCAA Championships, Cardama Báez turned professional, joining the

based in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

and coached by

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broke ...

. On 21 December 2021, Cardama Báez competed in the senior race at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin, finishing eighth. On 14 June 2022, she ran 9:08.11 over 3000 m, a personal best, in

Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. 2 weeks later she placed fourth at the Spanish Championships over 5000 m in 16:14.37. On 31 March 2024, Cardama Báez announced she was leaving the

Competition record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Báez, Carmela Cardama 1996 births Living people Spanish female cross country runners Sportspeople from Vigo Florida State Seminoles women's cross country runners Oregon Ducks women's cross country runners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Oregon Ducks women's track and field athletes Florida State Seminoles women's track and field athletes 21st-century Spanish sportswomen