Gladys Tejeda: Peruvian Athlete Aims for Gold at Santiago 2023

Peruvian long-distance runner Gladys Tejeda will arrive in top form at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, which start in 100 days, with her sights set on winning her second consecutive gold medal in her specialty, the marathon, at the age of 38.

Born in the Junín Province on September 30, 1985, Gladys Tejeda is undoubtedly one of the greatest figures in Peruvian athletics.

Four years ago, she won gold in Lima with a record time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 55 seconds.

Supported by her fellow countrymen, who filled the streets of the Peruvian capital, Tejeda felt she had redeemed herself from her experience in Toronto four years earlier. In 2015, she won the gold medal in the marathon with a record of 2h33:03, but two months later she was stripped of the title due to doping.

In Lima, Tejeda led a successful campaign for her country, which achieved its best result in history with 39 medals, 11 of them gold.

Until that moment, two Mexicans, two Brazilians, one Chilean, one American, and one Cuban had won gold since the women's marathon was introduced in the Pan American Games in 1987.

The previous winner, who inherited the medal revoked from Tejeda, was Brazilian Adriana da Silva, who set a record of 2h35:40, a record that Tejeda shattered in Lima, where she already had a bronze medal from the 2011 Games.

After her redemption came the pandemic. Tejeda participated in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she finished 27th and achieved the highest placement for Latin America, with a time of 2h34:21.

In 2022, she competed in the Seville Marathon, where she finished ninth overall with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 57 seconds, a new South American record that surpassed the one set in 2014 by her compatriot Inés Melchor, with 2h26:48.

Olympic Spot

Gladys Tejeda also became the first Peruvian athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics by meeting the qualification standard set by the International Athletics Federation in the Valencia Marathon, with a time of 2h26:26.

"I am constantly preparing myself," the athlete said on her social media after recently participating in the World Mountain Championship. She returned to Peru to continue her preparation and plan a training camp in the United States before traveling to Santiago.

The athlete hopes to be "present in Santiago 2023 in the best possible way," as her goal is to "bring Peru to the highest possible level."

When she secured her qualification for Paris 2024, Tejeda said that "the excitement" of representing her country fills her with "emotion and enthusiasm," and she always expects "the support of all of Peru to continue firmly in the work she does."