Rosa Mota won the marathon at the S. Silvestre race in Brazil every year from 1981 to 1986. In 1982, she won the first gold medal for Portugal in the Olympic Games marathon in Athens. Carlos Lopes was the Olympic champion in the 1984 Los Angeles marathon and won the world championship in 1976, 1984 and 1985. Francis Obikuelu won gold at the 2002 European Athletics Championship and the first ever medal for Portugal in sprint at the 2004 Athens Olympics.