Santiago Llorente Fernández (

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

, 9 July 1958 – 27 March 2020) was a Spanish

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

Career

At the end of the 1970s, when Llorente was 16 years old, he was world runner-up in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

, in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, in 1975, which gave a boost to his sports career. In 1977, he became world runner-up in cross country running, in the junior category. That same year he was national champion in the 3,000 meters indoor junior category. With the Gipuzkoan federation, in 1984, he was the cross-country champion in the Basque country and broke the Basque record of 5,000 meters with a time of 13.52,27 minutes, which he maintained after a quarter of a century. He completed a great mark of 29.17,4 in 10,000 meters that same year. Later he won at the Cross de Venta de Baños, in 1985. In 1986, representing the

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

federation, he won the absolute championship of Spain in the 10,000 meters category. In 1987 he set two personal records representing the

federation, registering 13.42,3 minutes in 5,000 meters and 28.38,80 in 10,000 meters. However, a

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

injury stopped his progression, forcing him to retire from his career as an athlete. He remained within the world of sports as

masseur Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

for various athletes such as the Olympic medalist

Francis Obikwelu Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, GOIH (born 22 November 1978) is a retired Nigerian-born Portuguese sprinter, who specialized in 100 metres and 200 metres. He was the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the 100 metres. In the same race, he ...

and the cyclists

Óscar Pereiro Óscar Pereiro Sío (; born 3 August 1977) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Pereiro was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, after the original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for failing a Doping (sport), do ...

and

Carlos Sastre Carlos Sastre Candil (; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France. He consistently achieved outstanding results in the Vuelta a España and in the Tour de France. Sastre establis ...

Personal life

In 1995 he had a son, Santiago Llorente Mangas, born in Segovia; he also became an athlete.

Death

Llorente died in his native Segovia on 27 March 2020, at the age of 62, of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the pandemic in Spain. His death was announced on social networks by the president of the Spanish Athletics Federation, Raúl Chapado.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llorente, Santiago 1958 births 2020 deaths Spanish male long-distance runners Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain Sportspeople from Segovia Spanish male cross country runners Sports masseurs 20th-century Spanish sportsmen