| PLACE OF BIRTH
Foz do Douro
EVENT(S):
Marathon
CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCES:
Olympics: 1984 bronze Marathon, 1988 Gold Marathon. Worlds: 1987 Gold Marathon. European: 1982, 1986 & 1990 Gold Marathon.
Photo/Foto: George Herringshaw Date: 29th August 1990
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Third European Marathon gold
By the end of 1988, Rosa Mota had established a consistency in international marathons rarely seen in such a gruelling and variable event. She had won 10 of her 13 marathons including the last six in a row, and was the reigning Olympic, World and European champion. However, this consistency started to show cracks in 1989 when she failed to finish at Osaka in January, and finished second in Los Angeles in March in a rather modest (by her standards) time of 2hr 35min 27sec. However, this seemed to be only a temporary glitch, as Mota bounced back the next year to win at Osaka in 2hr 27min 47sec on 28 January, followed by her third Boston marathon victory on 16 April in the year's fastest time of 2hr 25min 24sec. At the 1990 European Championships in Split on 27 August, Mota employed the same tactics she had used at the 1987 World Championships, opening up a 10 second lead before the runners had left the stadium, and gradually increasing it as she ran away from the field. Mota led Valentina Yegorova (Soviet Union) by 1min 43sec at 20km, but soon after Rosa's pace began to drop, resulting from the heat and her own relentless pace. Closing rapidly, Yegorova had reduced the gap to 39sec at 30km, and then caught Mota 5km later. At this point, the class and fighting spirit of Mota took over. Despite her tiredness, Rosa put in a tactical burst which reopened a sizeable gap that Yegorova was unable to close. Mota went on to win her third European title (see photo above) with Yegorova just 5 seconds behind. In 1991, Mota won the World Cup marathon in London, but then dropped out at 26km in the World Championships in Tokyo with abdominal pains. She retired after failing to finish her last marathon in London in April 1992. (Ron Casey)
This photograph is the copyright © of George Herringshaw & sporting-heroes.net
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