View source for Carlos Lopes

{{short description|Portuguese long-distance runner (born 1947)}}
{{About||the Paralympic athlete|Carlos Lopes (Paralympic athlete)|other people|Carlos López (disambiguation){{!}}Carlos López}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}

{{Portuguese name|Sousa|Lopes}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = 
| fullname = Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Prince Henry|CGIH]]
| image = Carlos Lopes2.jpg
| imagesize = 230px
| sport = [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]]/[[Track and field|Track]], [[Long-distance running]]
| event = [[5000 metres]], [[10,000 metres]], [[Marathon]], [[Cross country running|Cross country]]
| club = [[Sporting CP|Sporting Clube de Portugal]]
| nationality = {{POR}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|2|18}}
| birth_place = [[Vildemoinhos]], [[Viseu]], [[Portugal]]
| pb = '''[[5000 metres|5000 m]]''': 13:16.38 <br> '''[[10,000 metres|10,000 m]]''': 27:17.48 <br> '''[[Marathon]]''': 2:07:12 <ref name="IAAF">{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14350383|title=''Carlos LOPES - Athlete Overview''|work=[[International Association of Athletics Federations|IAAF]]}}</ref>
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Olympic}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]]|[[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon|Marathon]]}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal]]|[[Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1976 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|1976 Chepstow]]|Senior race}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1984 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|1984 East Rutherford]]|Senior race}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|1985 Lisbon]]|Senior race}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|1977 Düsseldorf]]|Senior race}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|1983 Gateshead]]|Senior race}}
| caption = Lopes at the 1985 [[Rotterdam Marathon]]
}}
'''Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes''' {{Post-nominals|list=[[Order of Prince Henry|CGIH]]}} ({{IPA|pt|ˈkaɾluʒ ˈlɔpɨʃ}}, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former [[long-distance runner]] and world-record holder in the [[marathon]]. He won the [[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carlos Lopes |url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/carlos-lopes |access-date=16 August 2021 |website=Olympics.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-21 |title=100 Olympic Tidbits: Portugal's First Gold Medalist |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/news/100-olympic-tidbits--portugal-s-first-gold-medalist.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-SG}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=On its 35th anniversary, remembering Lopes' historic sub-2:08 marathon {{!}} FEATURE {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/lopes-historical-sub-208-marathon |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=worldathletics.org}}</ref> On 20 April 1985, Lopes set the men's marathon world record at 2:07:12 at the [[Rotterdam Marathon]].<ref name=":0" /> At club level, he competed for [[Sporting CP (athletics)|Sporting CP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlos Lopes: "Já dei a vida que tinha a dar ao Sporting" - Atletismo - Jornal Record |url=https://www.record.pt/modalidades/atletismo/detalhe/carlos-lopes-ja-dei-a-vida-que-tinha-a-dar-ao-sporting |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Record |language=pt}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lusa |first=Agência |title=Campeões olímpicos Carlos Lopes e Rosa Mota eleitos atletas do centenário |url=https://observador.pt/2021/12/18/campeoes-olimpicos-carlos-lopes-e-rosa-mota-eleitos-atletas-do-centenario/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Observador |language=pt-PT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lusa |first=Agência |title=Jornalistas desportivos distinguem Carlos Lopes por mérito internacional |url=https://observador.pt/2024/05/21/jornalistas-desportivos-distinguem-carlos-lopes-por-merito-internacional/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Observador |language=pt-PT}}</ref> He won two Olympic medals, three [[World Athletics Cross Country Championships|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).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlos LOPES {{!}} Profile {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/portugal/carlos-lopes-14350383 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=worldathletics.org}}</ref>

==Early life==
Carlos Lopes was born on 18 February 1947 in Vildemoinhos, near [[Viseu]], Portugal. He was the first child in a family with eight children.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=DT |date=2024-08-17 |title=Retrato: Carlos Lopes, o Campeão |url=https://desportivotransmontano.sapo.pt/noticias/retrato-carlos-lopes-o-campeao/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Desportivo Transmontano |language=pt-PT}}</ref> To help with the family's financial struggles, he started working at age 13, taking several jobs such as [[Stonemasonry|stonemason's]] assistant and [[Metalworking|metalworker]].<ref name=":1" />

Lopes wanted to play [[football (soccer)|football]] at local club [[Lusitano FCV|Lusitano]], but his father opposed it, so he turned to other sports. In 1967, he was invited to join [[Sporting CP (athletics)|the athletics team]] of [[Sporting Clube de Portugal]], where his coach was [[Mário Moniz Pereira]],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-02-11 |title=O fazedor de campeões que revolucionou o atletismo faria hoje 100 anos |url=https://www.dn.pt/desporto/o-fazedor-de-campeoes-que-revolucionou-o-atletismo-5315855.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=www.dn.pt |language=pt-PT}}</ref> and remained there until the end of his career in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arrs.run/RecProg/RP_wwR.htm|website=www.arrs.run|title=World Best Progressions- Road}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlos Lopes novo diretor do atletismo do Sporting |url=https://www.dn.pt/desporto/outras-modalidades/interior/carlos-lopes-novo-diretor-do-atletismo-do-sporting-3405430.html/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Diário de Notícias |language=pt}}</ref>

==Career==
Lopes won the [[IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]] in [[Chepstow]], Wales in 1976.

At the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] in [[Montreal]], Lopes competed in the 10,000 metres. In the race, Lopes set the pace from the 4000 metres mark, and the only athlete to follow him was defending double Olympic champion [[Lasse Virén]]. Virén passed Lopes with a lap to go to win the gold medal, and Lopes finished a comfortable second.

During the race, Lopes ran the first 5,000 metres in 14:08.94, and the second 5,000 metres in 13:36.23, a remarkable proof of his ability to steadily accelerate his pace.  What he generally lacked in the track races, however, was an ability to sharply increase his pace in the final lap or so.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raevuori |first1=Antero |title=Lasse Virén: The Gilded Spikes |date=1976 |publisher=Weilin+Göös |location=Helsinki}}</ref>

In the following year, Lopes finished second to [[Leon Schots]] in World Cross Country Championships in [[Düsseldorf]], Germany.

Afterward, Lopes had several injuries and did not qualify for [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in [[Moscow]].

In 1982, Lopes returned to top form, and in [[Oslo]], Norway, he broke the 10,000 metres European record with a time of 27:24.39, which belonged to his teammate [[Fernando Mamede]].

At the [[1982 European Athletics Championships]] in [[Athens]], Greece, Lopes finished fourth in the 10,000 metres with a time of 27:47.95, behind the winner [[Alberto Cova]]. During the race, he set the pace from 6,000 metres to 9,800 metres before being overtaken on the final lap.<ref>{{cite book |title=Huippu-urheilun tähtihetkiä}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Elävä arkisto |url=https://yle.fi/aihe/elava-arkisto}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Siukonen |first1=Markku |title=The Big European Championships Book |date=1990 |publisher=Sportti Kustannus / Publishing Ltd. |location=Jyväskylä, Finland}}</ref>

Lopes attempted his first marathon at the 1982 [[New York City Marathon]], but he did not finish due to an accident in which he ran into a spectator.

In 1983, he finished second at the World Cross Country Championships in [[Gateshead]], England.

Lopes ran his second marathon at the [[Rotterdam Marathon]] in 1983.  He finished second in a European record time of 2:08:39, two seconds behind the race winner, [[Robert de Castella]]. He then decided to run the 10,000 metres at the [[1983 World Championships in Athletics|1983 World Championships]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland, where he finished sixth behind the winner Alberto Cova. After that he decided to concentrate on the marathon and cross country.

In 1984, Lopes won his second [[1984 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]] in [[East Rutherford]], United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Carlos Lopes - O Homem da Maratona - Documentários - RTP |url=https://www.rtp.pt/programa/tv/p32003 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=www.rtp.pt}}</ref> In [[Stockholm]], Sweden, he paced teammate Fernando Mamede to break [[Henry Rono]]'s 10,000 metres world record of 27:22.50.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wunsche |first1=Wolfgang |title=Heroes of the Race Tracks |date=1984 |location=Helsinki}}</ref> Mamede won in 27:13.81 with Lopes finishing second in 27:17.48.

===Olympic champion===
An accident almost prevented Lopes from participating in the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in [[Los Angeles]] when, a week before the Games, he was run over by a car in [[Lisbon]] but he was not hurt.

The Olympic marathon at [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] was run in very warm conditions, and as the favorites gradually fell away, Lopes won the gold medal with a 200 metres advantage and in an Olympic record time of 2:09:21 at the age of 37.  This victory established his reputation as a world class runner, because he ran the last {{convert|7.2|km|mi}} at an average speed of 2:55 per km (4:42 per mile), a remarkably quick pace at the end of a marathon.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Juoksija |date=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Suuri Olympiakirja |location=Helsinki}}</ref> Lopes' Olympic record stood until the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[Beijing]], China, when Kenyan [[Sammy Wanjiru]] won with a time of 2:06:32.

In 1985, Lopes won the World Cross Country Championships in [[Lisbon]], Portugal for the third and final time in his career.

===Marathon world record===
In the last major competitive race of his career, the 1985 [[Rotterdam Marathon]], Lopes took 53 seconds off the world's best marathon time with a winning time of 2:07.12, and becoming the first man to run 42.195&nbsp;km in less than 2:08.00.

==Honours==
* [[File:PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Knight_BAR.svg|60x60px]] Knight of the [[Order of Prince Henry]] (23 December 1977)
* [[File:PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Officer_BAR.svg|60x60px]] Officer of the Order of Prince Henry  (4 July 1984)
* [[File:PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR.svg|60x60px]] Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry (26 October 1984) 
* [[File:PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR.svg|60x60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (24 August 1985)

==Popular culture==
Lopes appears in the [[New Kids on the Blecch|14th episode]] of [[The Simpsons (season 12)|season 12]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', where Homer learns in a documentary that Lopes is the oldest ever winner of the Olympic marathon, at 38, and inspires Homer, who claims to be almost his age, to enter the Springfield Marathon. Lopes was actually 37 when he won the 1984 Olympic marathon.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Sports links}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050307073155/http://atletismo.no.sapo.pt/carlos.htm Profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050831160405/http://www.carloslopes.d2d.pt/ Lisbon 2005/Carlos Lopes – Gold Marathon Memorial]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Steve Jones (athlete)|Steve Jones]]
| title = [[Marathon world best progression|Men's Marathon World Record Holder]]
| years = 20 April 1985 – 17 April 1988
| after = {{flagicon|ETH}} [[Belayneh Dinsamo]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|GDR}} [[Waldemar Cierpinski]]
| title = Men's Marathon Olympic Record Holder
| years = 12 August 1984 – 24 August 2008
| after = {{flagicon|KEN}} [[Samuel Wanjiru]]
}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Maria Manuela Contreiras]]
| title = [[Olympic Medal Nobre Guedes]]
| years = 1973
| after = [[Armando Marques (sport shooter)|Armando Marques]]<br>[[Hugo d'Assumpção]]
}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Steve Jones (athlete)|Steve Jones]]
| title = [[Marathon Year Rankings|Men's Fastest Marathon Race]]
| years = 1985
| after = [[Robert de Castella]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Marathon Men}}
{{Footer IAAF World Cross Champions Men}}
{{Footer Rotterdam Marathon Champions Men}}
{{Order of Cultural Merit}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Carlos}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Portuguese men long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Portuguese men marathon runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Portugal]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Portugal]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Portugal]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Viseu]]
[[Category:World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Portugal]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Portuguese men cross country runners]]
[[Category:20th-century Portuguese sportsmen]]