European Athletics is very saddened to hear of the death of Spanish distance running pioneer Carmen Valero who died today (2) at the age of 68.
Valero was the first Spanish female athlete to compete in an Olympic Games, taking part in the 800m and 1500m at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
But her greatest successes came at cross country and Valero won the individual title at both the 1976 and 1977 editions of the World Cross Country Championships along with individual bronze in 1975.
In 1976, Valero defeated future Olympic champions Tatyana Kazankina and Gabriella Dorio to win gold in the women’s 4.8km by 20 seconds before retaining her title the following year ahead of 1972 Olympic 1500m champion Lyudmila Bragina.
In total, Valero competed for Spain internationally on 25 occasions and set Spanish records at 800m (2:04.12), 1500m (4:08.3) and 3000m (9:00.09). In 2017, Valero was crowned Spanish female athlete of the 20th century by the Spanish Athletics Federation.
Among those to pay tribute to Valero on social media included Natalia Rodriguez, the first Spanish woman to break the four minute-barrier in the 1500m. "Thank you for opening the way," she wrote on Twitter.
Leading Spanish middle distance runner and Olympic 1500m finalist Marta Perez wrote: "How much we owe you, Carmen. Thank you for being a guide."