Which athlete won the women’s marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics?

Rosa Mota won the women’s marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The Portuguese runner finished in 2:25:40 and became the first woman to win Olympic marathon medals at three successive Games. She had taken bronze at Los Angeles in 1984 and gold at Seoul, and later won another gold at Barcelona in 1992.

Mota’s Seoul victory came in warm conditions on a course that ended in the Olympic Stadium. Her success formed part of a remarkable career that included three European Championships titles and victories at major city marathons such as Boston and Chicago.

She is sometimes confused with Joan Benoit, who won the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984, or with Grete Waitz, who won the 1983 World Championships marathon. Mota’s Olympic achievement is specifically the Seoul title and her three consecutive Olympic marathon medals.