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Carmen Valero
Carmen Valero Omedes (4 October 1955 – 2 January 2024) was a Spanish middle-distance runner, who was best known for representing her native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Although eliminated in the heats of the 800 and the 1500 metres, Valero was the only woman in the Spanish track and field squad for the Montreal Games, and became the first female athlete to ever represent the country in those sports at the Summer Olympic Games.
Valero won two consecutive women's races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1976 and 1977, while also winning the bronze medal at the same competition in 1975.
Born in Castelserás, Spain, Valero moved to Cerdanyola with her family as a child, after her elder sister had been diagnosed with asthma. She first took up running at the age of eight, before being advised to move to Sabadell in order to join an athletics club.
At the age of 12, she took part in the Jean Bouin race, held on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, under the false name of "Teodora Rodríguez", having still not obtained an official sporting license.
In 1969, Valero joined her first club, Joventut Atlètica Sabadell, where she started training under coach Josep Molíns and taking part in her first cross-country competitions, while carrying on with her studies and a side job. She then went on to race for CN Barcelona and Agrupació Esportiva Marathon.
After winning two consecutive Spanish Cross Country Youth Championships in 1970 and 1971, Valero won her first three senior titles the following year, gaining the gold medal in the cross-country and 500-metre races at the Catalan Championships, as well as the 1500-metre race at the Spanish Championships. The same year, she also made her debut at the International Cross Country Championships (later rebranded as World Cross Country Championships), where she finished 31st out of 44 contestants.
In 1973, Valero won the cross-country races both at the Catalan and Spanish Championships, as well as her second consecutive 1500-metre races at the latter contest; later that year, she was awarded the Best Sporting Woman of the Year prize (Mejor Deportista del año) by sports magazine Mundo Deportivo, an accolade she would also receive in 1975, 1976 and 1977.
In 1974, Valero made her debut at the European Athletics Championships. In 1975, aged 19, she won the bronze medal in the senior women's race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, trailing behind only Julie Brown and Bronisława Ludwichowska. In the same year, she also finished third in the 1500-metre race at the Mediterranean Games in Algiers.
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Carmen Valero
Carmen Valero Omedes (4 October 1955 – 2 January 2024) was a Spanish middle-distance runner, who was best known for representing her native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Although eliminated in the heats of the 800 and the 1500 metres, Valero was the only woman in the Spanish track and field squad for the Montreal Games, and became the first female athlete to ever represent the country in those sports at the Summer Olympic Games.
Valero won two consecutive women's races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1976 and 1977, while also winning the bronze medal at the same competition in 1975.
Born in Castelserás, Spain, Valero moved to Cerdanyola with her family as a child, after her elder sister had been diagnosed with asthma. She first took up running at the age of eight, before being advised to move to Sabadell in order to join an athletics club.
At the age of 12, she took part in the Jean Bouin race, held on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, under the false name of "Teodora Rodríguez", having still not obtained an official sporting license.
In 1969, Valero joined her first club, Joventut Atlètica Sabadell, where she started training under coach Josep Molíns and taking part in her first cross-country competitions, while carrying on with her studies and a side job. She then went on to race for CN Barcelona and Agrupació Esportiva Marathon.
After winning two consecutive Spanish Cross Country Youth Championships in 1970 and 1971, Valero won her first three senior titles the following year, gaining the gold medal in the cross-country and 500-metre races at the Catalan Championships, as well as the 1500-metre race at the Spanish Championships. The same year, she also made her debut at the International Cross Country Championships (later rebranded as World Cross Country Championships), where she finished 31st out of 44 contestants.
In 1973, Valero won the cross-country races both at the Catalan and Spanish Championships, as well as her second consecutive 1500-metre races at the latter contest; later that year, she was awarded the Best Sporting Woman of the Year prize (Mejor Deportista del año) by sports magazine Mundo Deportivo, an accolade she would also receive in 1975, 1976 and 1977.
In 1974, Valero made her debut at the European Athletics Championships. In 1975, aged 19, she won the bronze medal in the senior women's race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, trailing behind only Julie Brown and Bronisława Ludwichowska. In the same year, she also finished third in the 1500-metre race at the Mediterranean Games in Algiers.