Fernanda Ribeiro

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Moreira and the second or paternal family name is Ribeiro.

Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃dɐ ʁiˈβɐjɾu]; born 23 June 1969), is a long-distance runner born in Penafiel, Portugal. The pinnacle of her career was at the 1996 Summer Olympics when she won the women's 10000 m gold medal, establishing a new Olympic record of 31:01.63. Her victory gave Portugal its third Olympic gold medal.

Fernanda Ribeiro

Ribeiro at the 2006 Hamburg Marathon
Personal information
Nationality	Portuguese
Born	(1969-06-23) 23 June 1969 Penafiel, Portugal
Height	1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Middle, long, road, and cross country running
Medal record Women's athletics Representing Portugal Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 1 World Championships 1 2 1 European Championships 1 1 0 World Indoor Championships 0 0 1 European Indoor Championships 2 1 0 World Junior Championships 0 1 0 European Junior Championships 1 0 0 IAAF Continental Cup 0 1 0 World Cross Country C'ships 2 0 0 European Cross Country C'ships 2 0 2 Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta 10000 m 2000 Sydney 10000 m World Championships 1995 Gothenburg 10000 m 1995 Gothenburg 5000 m 1997 Athens 10000 m 1997 Athens 5000 m European Championships 1994 Helsinki 10000 m 1998 Budapest 10000 m World Indoor Championships 1997 Paris 3000 m European Indoor Championships 1994 Paris 3000 m 1996 Stockholm 3000 m 1998 Valencia 3000 m World Junior Championships 1988 Sudbury 3000 m European Junior Championships 1987 Birmingham 3000 m Continental Cup 1994 London 10000 m World Cross Country Championships 1994 Budapest Team race 2000 Vilamoura Team short race European Cross Country Championships 1998 Ferrara Team race 2004 Heringsdorf Team race 1994 Alnwick Team race 2007 Toro Team race World Road Relay Championships 1992 Funchal Women's event Lusophony Games 2009 Lisbon 10 km road 2006 Macau Half marathon Ibero-American Championships 2000 Rio de Janeiro 5000 m 2004 Huelva 5000 m 1990 Manaus 3000 m European Cup 10000m 1998 Lisbon Individual race 1998 Lisbon Team race 2002 Camaiore Team race 2003 Athens Individual race 2003 Athens Team race 2005 Barakaldo Team race 2009 Riveira Brava Team race 2010 Marseille Team race 2002 Camaiore Individual race 2004 Maribor Team race 2005 Barakaldo Individual race 2004 Maribor Individual race

Biography

Ribeiro started running with Grupo Desportivo do Kolossal, before joining FC Porto, which she represented from 1982-1992. She returned to FC Porto after two years at Maratona Clube da Maia. Along with her sports career, she has worked at her town hall as a sports adviser to the mayor.

She holds Portugal's record for most Olympic medals. She has the record for most athletic medals won in Portugal, having participated in five summer Olympics (Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, and Athens 2004) and many more European and World Championships.

Ribeiro has continued running in her later years and won third place at the 2010 Lisbon Half Marathon, when she was 40 years old. She helped the Portuguese women's team win the title at the European Cup 10000 m in June 2010, rounding out the country's top runners with a seventh-place finish.

Atlanta Olympic 10000 m gold medal, 1996

On 2 August 1996 Ribeiro ran in the finals of the Olympic women's 10000 m run. At the beginning of the last lap, Ribeiro was close behind the Chinese athlete Wang Junxia, world record holder and 5000 m Olympic champion. On the backstretch, Wang opened up as much as a 10-metre gap. In the last 200 meters accelerated, Ribeiro passed her opponent on the inside just as she entered the final straightaway. Wang had no answer.

At the end of the race, Fernanda said:

I had promised to fight until my very limits, I only missed finishing on my knees. From the third kilometer I started feeling pain on the Achilles' tendon, managed to withstand, suffered, but I, for the dream of becoming Olympic champion, was ready to run until... death knocked me over! I just got a bit scared when I saw Wang, isolating 400 m to the finish line. But that instant I wasn't defeated yet... it was when I remembered my promise to go to Fatima on foot.

In November 1996, she made a pilgrimage to Fátima as promised to thank Our Lady of Fátima for her incredible victory.

Achievements and Results

Olympic Games

13th 3000 m, 1988 Seoul, KOR

9th 3000 m, 1992 Barcelona, SPA

1st 10000 m, 1996 Atlanta, USA

3rd 10000 m, 2000 Sydney, AUS

DNF 10000m, 2004 Athens, GRE

World Championships

4th 3000 m, 1986 Athens, GRE (junior)

24th 3000 m, 1987 Rome, ITA

2nd 3000 m, 1988 Sudbury, CAN (junior)

22nd 3000 m, 1991 Tokyo, JAP

10th 10000 m, 1993 Stuttgart, GER

1st 10000 m, 1995 Gothenburg, SWE

2nd 5000 m, 1995 Gothenburg, SWE

3rd 3000 m, 1997 Paris, FRA (indoor)

2nd 10000 m, 1997 Athens, GRE

3rd 5000 m, 1997 Athens, GRE

World Cup

2nd 10000 m, 1994 London, ENG

European Championships

25th 3000 m, 1986 Stuttgart, GER

1st 3000 m, 1987 Birmingham, ENG (junior)

19th 3000 m, 1990 Split, YUG

1st 3000 m, 1994 Paris, FRA (indoor)

1st 10000 m, 1994 Helsinki, FIN

1st 3000 m, 1996 Stockholm, SWE (indoor)

2nd 3000 m, 1998 Valencia, SPA (indoor)

2nd 10000 m, 1998 Budapest, HUN

Road Relay Team Championships

1st, 1992 Funchal, POR

World Cross Country Championships

10th Long Race, 1994 Budapest, HUN

1st Long Race, 1994 Budapest, HUN (Team)

10th Short Race, 2000 Vilamoura, POR

1st Short Race, 2000 Vilamoura, POR (Team)

European Cross Country Championships

6th 4,5 km, 1994 Alnwick, ENG

3rd 4,5 km, 1994 Alnwick, ENG (Team)

4th 5,6 km, 1998 Ferrara, ITA

1st 5,6 km, 1998 Ferrara, ITA (Team)

15th 5,64 km, 2004 Heringsdorf, GER

1st 5,64 km, 2004 Heringsdorf, GER (Team)

3rd 8,2 km, 2007 Toro, SPA (Team)

European 10000 Meters Challenge

1st 10000 m, 1998 Lisbon, POR

1st 10000 m, 1998 Lisbon, POR (Team)

2nd 10000 m, 2002 Camaiore, ITA

1st 10000 m, 2002 Camaiore, ITA (Team)

1st 10000 m, 2003 Athens, GRE

1st 10000 m, 2003 Athens, GRE (Team)

3rd 10000 m, 2004 Maribor, SLO

2nd 10000 m, 2004 Maribor, SLO (Team)

European Cup 10000 Meters

2nd 10000 m, 2005 Barakaldo, SPA

1st 10000 m, 2005 Barakaldo, SPA (Team)

6th 10000 m, 2009 Ribeira Brava, POR

1st 10000 m, 2009 Ribeira Brava, POR (Team)

7th 10000 m, 2010 Marseille, FRA

1st 10000 m, 2010 Marseille, FRA (Team)

Lusophony Games

2nd Half Marathon, 2006 Macau, CHN

1st 10 km road, 2009 Lisbon, POR

Ibero-American Championships

3rd 3000 m, 1990 Manaus, BRA

1st 5000 m, 2000 Rio de Janeiro, BRA

1st 5000 m, 2004 Huelva, SPA

Iberian 10000 Meters Championships

1st 10000 m, 1992 Maia, POR

Medal Count

40 International Medals (23 Gold, 10 Silver, 7 Bronze)

26 International Medals - Individual (12 Gold, 9 Silver, 5 Bronze)

14 International Medals - Team (11 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze)

Medals By Year

1987 - 1

1988 - 1

1990 - 1

1992 - 2

1994 - 5

1995 - 2

1996 - 2

1997 - 3

1998 - 5

2000 - 3

2002 - 2

2003 - 2

2004 - 4

2005 - 2

2006 - 1

2007 - 1

2009 - 2

2010 - 1

Most International Medals - Women

62 Caterine Ibargüen, COL

50 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, BAH

43 Veronica Campbell-Brown, JAM

42 Merlene Ottey, JAM

40 Fernanda Ribeiro, POR

37 Maria de Lurdes Mutola, MOZ

32 Chandra Sturrup, BAH

Personal bests

• 2000 m outdoor – 5:37.88 (Lisbon, 1996)
• 2000 m indoor – 5:37.34 (Valencia, 1996)
• 3000 m indoor – 8:39.49 (Stockholm, 1996)
• 5000 m outdoor – 14:36.45 (Hechtel, 1995)
• 5000 m indoor – 15:06.52 (Moscow, 1996)
• 10000 m – 30:22.88 (Sydney, 2000)
• 10000 m Olympic – 31:01.63 (Atlanta, 1996 – Olympic record)

External links

• http://www.atletas.net Archived 31 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• Fernanda Ribeiro