Sónia Lopes (born 6 April 1975) is a

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

an middle distance and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

Career

Almeida first competed for Cape Verde at the

2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 18/19, 2000. The races were held at the Sporting Complex in Vilamoura, Portugal. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IA ...

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal luxury resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle (Algarve), Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

where she placed 118th in the Women's short race in a time of 18:33. The following year at the

2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 8th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Pavilhão Atlântico in Lisbon, Portugal from March 9 to March 11, 2001. It was the first time the Championships had been held in Portugal. There were a total number of 511 pa ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Almeida recorded a personal best and national record time of 11:37.38 in the heats of the

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 ...

. Five months later at the World Outdoor Championships in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Lopes placed 35th in 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 ...

with a time of 5:13.80. The following year at the

2002 African Championships in Athletics The 13th African Championships in Athletics were held in Tunis and Radès, Tunisia in August, 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 maj ...

Radès Radès () is a harbour city in Ben Arous Governorate, Tunisia. Situated south-east of the capital Tunis, some consider it a Tunis suburb, and parts of the harbor installations of Tunis are located in Radès. Rades is divided into sub cities: ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, she finished last in the

but with an improved time of 4:56.92. In 2003, Lopes competed in the

2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 2003 in Vilamoura, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the west ...

in Vilamoura, finishing in 59th in 1:24:59 and in the

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 ...

at the 2003 World Championships, finishing in last place in 3:21:59. Two years later she was back on track running the

in 4:51.29 at the 2005 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Personal bests

Below is Euclides Lopes' personal best times.

References

1975 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Cape Verdean female long-distance runners Cape Verdean female middle-distance runners Cape Verdean steeplechase runners Female steeplechase runners {{CapeVerde-athletics-bio-stub