Carlos Lopes

Who is Carlos Lopes?

Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance runner, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record – 2:09.21.

Born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal, Carlos Lopes worked as a stonecutter's helper. He wanted to play football at the local club, but his father opposed this, so he turned to other forms of athletics. In 1967 he was personally invited to join the athletics team of Sporting Clube de Portugal, and remained there until the end of his career in 1985. He was an average quality runner, until he made an astonishing breakthrough in 1976, aged 29.