Alejandro Gómez (runner)

Alejandro Gómez Cabral (11 April 1967 in Vigo, Pontevedra – 31 January 2021) was a Spanish long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon and cross-country running.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gómez and the second or maternal family name is Cabral.

Career

He stood out from a very young age, he was a Spanish junior record holder of 5,000 m (14: 16.7), a promise of 10,000 m (27: 54.13) and a junior of 2,000 m (5: 09.5), 5,000 m (13: 42.17) and 3,000 m obstacles ( 8: 36.4).

He was also champion of Spain of cross country in the youth category in 1984, of 5,000 m and cross country in the promises category in 1986, 1987 and 1988 and of 3,000 m obstacles in 1987. In absolute category he was several times champion of Spain of 10,000m., Half marathon, and cross. In the international field, he participated in the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988 in the 5000 m, in Barcelona 1992 and in Atlanta 1996 in the 10,000 m event, where he was 15th in the final with a mark of 29: 38.11. At the 1991 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo he was 9th in the 10,000m final with a time of 28: 13.71.[2]

At the 1995 World Athletics Championships held in Gothenburg he was 16th in 10,000 m and at the 1999 World Athletics Championships held in Seville he ranked 40th in marathon. The two times he was closest to a podium were in the marathons of the 1998 European Athletics Championships held in Budapest and in the 2002 European Athletics Championships held in Munich where he was 5th and 6th respectively. He participated many times in the cross-country world championship, and achieved third place in teams in 1989. In the European Championship he won silver in the second edition held in Alnwick in 1995 where he was proclaimed the European team champion. He also participated in several editions of the World Half Marathon, achieving an 8th place in Palma de Mallorca, his best performance, where he was runner-up for teams with the national team. As a member of the Spanish marathon team that stood out so much at the end of the nineties, he was runner-up in the European Cup in 1998, and was also the distance record holder, a mark that he snatched from Martín Fiz in 1997 with a second place in the Rotterdam marathon with a mark of 2:07:54.

In June 2020, an inoperable brain tumor was detected and he died on January 31, 2021.[3]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Spain
1985 European Junior Championships Cottbus, East Germany 13th 3000 m 8:18.42
World Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 16th Junior race 23:30
1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 2nd 5000 m 13:55.94
World Cross Country Championships Neuchatel, Switzerland 8th Junior race 23:17
1987 World Cross Country Championships Warsaw, Poland 114th Long race 38:48
1988 World Cross Country Championships Auckland, New Zealand 24th Long race 36:24
1989 World Cross Country Championships Stavanger, Norway 6th Long race 40:29
5th Team 189 pts
1990 World Cross Country Championships Aix-les-Bains, France 32rd Senior race (12.2 km) 35:24
3rd Team 176 pts
European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 10th 10,000m 28:16.06
1991 World Cross Country Championships Antwerp, Belgium 14th Long race (11.764 km) 34:36
3rd Team 198 pts
1992 World Half Marathon Championships Newcastle, United Kingdom 9th Half marathon 1:01:20
1995 World Cross Country Championships Durham, England 28th Senior race (12.02 km) 35:30
3rd Team 120 pts
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 15th 10,000 m 28:39.11
World Half Marathon Championships Palma de Mallorca, Spain 8th Half marathon 1:02:47
2nd Team 3:08:36
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th Marathon 2:13:23
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 40th Marathon 2:26:40
2002 European Championships Munich, Germany 6th Marathon 2:13:40
2003 World Championships Paris, France — Marathon DNF

Personal bests

References
  1. "Alejandro Gómez". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  2. "Alejandro Gómez: «Realmente no pensaba que la gente me quisiera tanto»". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  3. LD/Efe (2021-01-31). "Muere Alejandro Gómez, leyenda del atletismo español, a los 53 años". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-02-02.
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