María Forero

María Forero
Personal information
NationalitySpanish
Born (2003-03-24) 24 March 2003 (age 21)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)5000m, Cross country
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1500m: 4:14.64 (Ordizia, 2023)
3000m: 9:25.14 (Torrent, 2022)
5000m: 15:23.79 (Berge, 2024) NU23R
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Spain
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Espoo 5000m
European Cross Country Championships
Silver medal – second place 2024 Antalya U23 race
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Brussels U23 team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Turin U20 race
Gold medal – first place 2022 Turin U20 team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Dublin U20 race
Youth Olympic Festival
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Baku 3000m

María Forero (born 24 March 2003) is a Spanish track and field athlete and cross country runner.[1]

Career

From Huelva in Andalusia, she was selected to represent Spain at the 2019 European Cross Country Championships U20 race aged 17 years-old.[2] That year, she was a bronze medalist in the 3000 metres at the 2019 European Youth Olympics in Baku.[3]

In 2020, she became Spanish U18 champion over 5000 metres, running 17:20.41 in Tarragona, breaking the championship record by seven seconds.[4]

In 2021, she was a silver medalist in the U20 team event at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships in Dublin.[5] She moved to León to the training group led by José Enrique Villacorta and which already included international runners such as Roberto Aláiz and Blanca Fernández. In August 2022, she finished fifth in the 5000m at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia.[6]

In November 2022, she became Spanish national U20 cross country champion.[7] Forero was a double gold medalist at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships in Turin, winning both the individual title and the team event with Spain. [8]

She won the 5000m silver medal at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland in July 2023.[9][10][11]

She was selected for the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in June 2024.[12] That month, she set a new Spanish U23 record for the 5000 metres, running 15:23.79 in Norway.[13]

In December 2024, she won the silver medal in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Maria Forero". World Athletics. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. ^ "La onubense María Forero, seleccionada por España para el Europeo de Cross sub 20". Huelvainformacion. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ Ortiz, Damian (23 July 2023). "Summer consecrates María Forero". Diariodehuelva.es. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  4. ^ "María Forero sees her gold in the U18 National Championship as one more step towards being a professional athlete". Huelvaimformacion. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  5. ^ "María Forero and her new European challenge: "We are at a high level but renewing a medal is very complicated"". Huelva24. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  6. ^ "European champion María Forero polishes her talent in the 'lion factory'". Runners World. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  7. ^ Neto, Diego (November 14, 2022). "María Forero champion of Spain with Playas de Castellón in Atapuerca". Isla-Cristina. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  8. ^ Brigado, Javier (12 November 2022). "María Forero, European under-20 cross country champion". Runners World. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Fabulous in Finland! Megan Keith wins gold in Women's 5000m at Euro U23 Champs". Scottish Athletics. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ Henderson, Jason (July 14, 2023). "Megan Keith and Charles Hicks win 5000m gold in Espoo". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Megan Keith wins gold in 5,000m at European Under-23 Championships". BBC Sport. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  12. ^ "#EspañaAtletismo Road to Roma: Preselección definitiva". Royal Spanish Athletics Federation. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  13. ^ "María Forero wins silver at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in the women's under-23 category". 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Ingebrigtsen and Battocletti triumph at European Cross Country Championships in Antalya". World Athletics. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.