Carlos Lopes

Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaɾluʒ ˈlɔpɨʃ], born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner and world-record holder in the marathon. He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist, the oldest ever Olympic marathon winner at the age of 37, and setting an Olympic record for the event which stood for 24 years. On 20 April 1985, Lopes set the men's marathon world record at 2:07:12 at the Rotterdam Marathon. At club level, he competed for Sporting CP. Regarded as one of the greatest Portuguese athletes of all-time, Lopes is the last European to hold the men's marathon world-record, between 1985 and 1988. He won two Olympic medals, three World Cross Country Championships (1976, 1984, 1985), two national 10,000 metres championships (1970, 1978), two national 5000 metres championships (1968, 1983) and one national 3000 metres steeplechase championship (1975).