Érika Alejandra Olivera de la Fuente (born 4 January 1976) is a Chilean marathon runner and deputy for the Democrats party.
She has competed at five Olympic Games, the most Olympic appearances ever by a female marathon runner.
Career She took the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games, setting a Pan American Games record at 2:37.41 hours. She won a bronze at the following edition in 2003. Starting in 1996, she represented her native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, and also the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Olivera made her breakthrough at the junior level in 1994 when she won the 10,000 metres gold and 3000 metres bronze medals at the South American Junior Championships in Athletics. The following year she upgraded to a gold and a silver medal at the Pan American Junior Championships, before going on to complete a hat-trick of medals at the South American Junior Championships – she secured a 10,000 m and 3000 m double and also won the 1500 metres silver behind Bertha Sánchez.South American Junior Championships (Women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-10-30.Pan American Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-10-30.
Olivera is a two-time winner of the South American Cross Country Championships, having beaten all comers in both the long and short races in 1999.Continental Cross Country Championships and Cups. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-02. She is a five-time winner and course record holder of the Santiago Marathon.: Juraj Gasparovic & Klaas Loonstra (2010-04-13). Santiago Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-10-30. She won the 1995 edition of the Buenos Aires Marathon in Argentina and placed fourth at the 74th Saint Silvester Marathon in 1998.
She enjoyed success on the track at continental level, completing a 10,000 metres/5000 metres silver medal double at both the 1997 and 2003 South American Championships in Athletics. Further to this, she won a silver and a bronze at the 1999 edition of the competition.South American Championships (Women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-10-30. At the Ibero-American Championships, she has won medals in a number of events, beginning with a 5000 m gold medal and 10,000 m bronze in 1996, the 10,000 m gold at the 2000 edition, and finally a silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase in 2002.Ibero American Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-10-30.
Her personal best for the marathon is 2:32:23, set at the 1999 Rotterdam Marathon, which is also the Chilean record for the event. She is also the national record holder over the half marathon, 10,000 m and 5000 m.Chilean Athletics Records - Women Outdoor. Fedachi. Retrieved on 2010-10-30.
After completing the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Olivera became the first female athlete ever in completing five olympic marathons. Immediately after the race, she announced her retirement from competitive athletics. In November 2016, Olivera announced that her last race as a professional will be at the 2017 Santiago Marathon, on which she completed the half-marathon in 1:38:17.
Personal life Erika Olivera was married with Ricardo Opazo, who was also her coach. Currently his partner is Chilean marathoner Leslie Encina. She has five children.
The athlete has always been critical with regard to sports financing in Chile, indicating the lack of financial support that she has had to overcome during her athletic career.
In 2015 Olivera manifested her intention of starting a political career once she finishes her athletic profession, considering that she will attempt to become a member of the Chilean Congress Cámara de Diputados de Chile, and showing interest in the Renovación Nacional (RN) party.
In 2016 Olivera revealed that her stepfather had sexually abused her during twelve years of her childhood.
In the 2017 Chilean general election, Oliveira was elected as a deputy for the RN with 30,784 votes, representing District 9 which includes Quinta Normal, Cerro Navia, Renca, Lo Prado, Recoleta, Independencia, Huechuraba, and Conchalí. She gained controversy after she compared the campaign of former presidential candidate Alejandro Guillier to the government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Olympic results Olympic Games Discipline Place Time 1996 Atlanta Marathon 37 2:39:06 2000 Sydney Marathon 27 2:35:07 2004 Athens Marathon 58 2:57:14 2012 London Marathon 64 2:36:41 2016 Rio de Janeiro Marathon 105 2:50:29 Note: Olivera missed the 2008 Summer Olympics due to pregnancy.
Personal bests 1500 m: 4:25.61 – Talca, Chile, 11 April 1997 3000 m: 9:21.73 – Santiago, Chile, 1 May 1999 5000 m: 15:51.45 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 May 2000 10,000 m: 33:23.12 – Concepción, Chile, 30 November 1996 Half marathon: 1:11:54 – Santiago, Chile, 10 September 2000 Marathon: 2:32:23 – Rotterdam, Netherlands, 18 April 1999 3000 m steeplechase: 10:48.75– Guatemala City, Guatemala, 11 May 2002
International competitions Representing 1992South American Junior ChampionshipsLima, Peru6th3000 m10:32.75th10,000 m39:50.2South American Youth ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile9th1500 m4:56.235th3000 m10:20.731993South American Junior ChampionshipsPuerto La Cruz, Venezuela5th3000 m10:13.71994South American Junior ChampionshipsSanta Fe, Argentina3rd3000 m9:48.031st10,000 m34:14.4World Junior ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal7th10,000 m34:36.96South American GamesValencia, Venezuela1st3000 m9:31.061st10,000 m34:40.91995Pan American GamesMar del Plata, Argentina7th5000 m16:13.768th10,000 m34.54.42Pan American Junior ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile2nd3000 m9:32.521st10,000 m34:43.10South American Junior ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile2nd1500 m10:05.421st3000 m9:30.731st10,000 m35:27.33Buenos Aires MarathonBuenos Aires, Argentina1stMarathon2:45:021996South American Cross Country ChampionshipsAsunción, Paraguay2nd6 km21:51Ibero-American ChampionshipsMedellín, Colombia1st5000 m16:26.133rd10,000 m34:41.75Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States37thMarathon2:39:061997South American Cross Country ChampionshipsComodoro Rivadavia, Argentina2nd6 km21:31South American ChampionshipsMar del Plata, Argentina2nd5000 m15:52.272nd10,000 m33:56.981998South American GamesCuenca, Ecuador2nd10,000 m36:00.0Saint Silvester Road RaceSão Paulo, Brazil4th15 km53:331999South American Cross Country Championships - JuniorArtur Nogueira, Brazil1st4 km14:051st8 km29:48South American ChampionshipsBogotá, Colombia5th1500 m4:49.253rd5000 m17:15.172nd10,000 m34:45.70Pan American GamesWinnipeg, Canada1stMarathon2:37:412000South American Cross Country ChampionshipsCartagena, Colombia3rd4 km13:243rd8 km28:12Ibero-American ChampionshipsRio de Janeiro, Brazil5th5000 m15:51.451st10,000 m33:39.16Olympic GamesSydney, Australia27thMarathon2:35:072002Ibero-American ChampionshipsGuatemala, Guatemala —3000 mDNF —5000 mDNF2nd3000 m steeplechase10:48.5South American Half Marathon ChampionshipsBuenos Aires, Argentina1stHalf marathon1:14:512003South American Cross Country ChampionshipsAsunción, Paraguay4th4 km14:563rd8 km31:32South American ChampionshipsBarquisimeto, Venezuela2nd5000 m16:23.972nd10,000 m34:43.02Pan American GamesSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic3rdMarathon2:44:522004Ibero-American ChampionshipsHuelva, Spain11th5000 m17:22.95Olympic GamesAthens, Greece58thMarathon2:57:142007South American Cross Country ChampionshipsRio de Janeiro, Brazil —8 kmDNFPan American GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil —MarathonDNF2009South American Cross Country ChampionshipsConcepción, Chile8th8 km29:17South American ChampionshipsLima, Peru —5000 mDNF2011Pan American GamesGuadalajara, Mexico5thMarathon2:44:062012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom64thMarathon2:36:412013World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia —MarathonDNF2014South American GamesSantiago, Chile6th5000 m16:37.847th10,000 m34:21.93South American Marathon ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile1stMarathon2:36:082015South American ChampionshipsLima, Peru10th10,000 m36:14.96Pan American GamesToronto, Canada11thMarathon2:52:272016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil105thMarathon2:50:292017Santiago MarathonSantiago, ChileunknownHalf marathon1:38:17
References
External links
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