Fernanda Ribeiro

Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH (born 23 June 1969), is a long-distance runner born in Penafiel, Portugal.

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.

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.

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:

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

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.