Marta García (runner)

Marta García
Personal information
Full nameMarta García Alonso[1]
Nationality Spain
Born1 January 1998 (1998-01) (age 27)[2]
León, Spain
Home townProvince of León[3]
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)3000 metres
5000 metres
ClubBarcelona FC[1]
On Athletics Club Europe[4]
Coached byUriel Reguero[3]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Spain
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rome 5000 m

Marta García Alonso[a] (born 1 January 1998) is a Spanish middle- and long-distance runner competing for the On Athletics Club Europe. She won the bronze medal in the 1500 m at the 2019 Mediterranean Athletics U23 Indoor Championships, and she was the 2021 Spanish Indoor Athletics Championships and 2023 Spanish outdoor championships winner in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres respectively.

Biography

García is from the Province of León, where she started running from the age of three.[4][3] She initially competed for the athletics division of the FC Barcelona club.[1] By 2019, she had moved to Palencia to be coached by Uriel Reguero in Valladolid.[3]

García's first international race was at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior women's race, where she was the 3rd scorer for Spain in 54th place, contributing to a 14th-place team finish.[5] Following that at the 2017 European Cross Country Championships, García finished 13th overall in the U20 race and the first Spaniard ahead of teammates Lucía Rodríguez and Carla Gallardo, earning her team a bronze medal.[6]

That bronze medal result was improved upon at the 2018 European Cross Country Championships, this time in the U23 race, when García was the 3rd scorer and 12th overall on the Spanish team earning a silver medal. It was the first ever medal by Spain in the U23 category at the European Cross Country Championships.[7]

At the 2019 Mediterranean Athletics U23 Indoor Championships, García won a bronze medal in the women's 1500 m.[3] She nearly won the silver, but was out-kicked by Alexa Lemitre of France.[8] The medal contributed to Spain's second-place showing overall at the event, behind only the host France.[9] García also competed at the 2019 European U23 Championships in the women's 1500 m, but she did not qualify for the finals.[2]

At the 2021 Spanish Indoor Athletics Championships, García won the 3000 m, her first senior national title. This earned her qualification to the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships, where García competed in the 3000 m and barely missed out on the finals. After what she thought was a good start tactically, García said she brushed with another runner with 400 m to go which hampered her final push. That race gave her confidence to try for the Olympic standards in the 1500 m and 5000 m, which she had previously said were out of reach.[10] García ultimately was not selected for the Spanish Olympic team.

In 2021, García signed with the On Athletics Club, joining Carmela Cardama Báez as the other Spanish women's athlete on the team.[11]

García was entered in the 1500 m and 3000 m at the 2022 Mediterranean Games, but she did not start either event. At the 2022 European Championships 5000 m, García finished 12th in a 15:23.36 personal best.[2] At the 2022 European Cross Country Championships, competing for the first time in the senior division, García finished 41st overall and did not score for the Spanish team, which placed 4th in the team standings.[2]

During the 2023 indoor season, García competed at the European Indoor Championships 3000 m, qualifying for the final and finishing 10th.[2] Outdoors, García set her goal on achieving the Budapest World Athletics Championships standards in the 1500 m and 5000 m.[12] Though she was not ultimately able to achieve them, she came closest at the 2023 Golden Gala, where she was a part of Faith Kipyegon's world record-breaking 1500 m race and finished 14th in a personal best of 4:07.22.[2] At the 2023 European Cross Country Championships, García was a member of the Spanish silver medal-winning team, but she was only the 5th Spaniard to finish and did not score for the team.[2]

She obtained a bronze medal in the 5000 m at the 2024 European Athletics Championships with a new personal best of 14:44.04, besting the 29-year old national record of Julia Vaquero in the process.[13]

Statistics

International competitions

Representing  Spain
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2017 European U20 Championships Grosseto, Italy 7th 3000 m 9:37.83
5th 5000 m 17:13.43
2018 Mediterranean U23 Championships Jesolo, Italy 2nd 5000 m 6:31.39
2019 Mediterranean U23 Indoor Championships Miramas, France 3rd 1500 m i 4:23.81
European U23 Championships Gävle, Sweden 17th (h) 1500 m 4:33.43
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 14th (h) 3000 m i 9:02.00
European Cross Country Championships Dublin, Ireland 5th Mixed 4 x 1.5 km XC 18:13
2022 European Championships Munich, Germany 12th 5000 m 15:23.36
European Cross Country Championships Venaria Reale, Italy 41st 7662 m XC 29:05
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 10th 3000 m i 8:54.92
European Cross Country Championships Brussels, Belgium 36th 8000 m XC 37:08
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 10th 3000 m i 8:40.34
European Championships Rome, Italy 3rd 5000 m 14:44.04
Olympic Games Paris, France 21st (h) 5000 m 15:08.87

Personal bests

Event Mark Place Competition Venue Date Ref
1500 metres 4:05.61 7th Hanžeković Memorial Zagreb, Croatia 10 September 2023 [2]
3000 metres 8:29.32 6th Bislett Games Oslo, Norway 30 May 2024 [2]
3000 meters (short track) 8:38.34 sh 8th The TRACK at New Balance Boston, USA 4 Feb 2024 [2]
5000 metres 14:44.04 3rd European Championships Rome, Italy 7 June 2024 [2]
5000 meters (short track) 14:46.37 sh 4th Boston University Boston, USA 27 Jan 2024 [2]

National titles

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Alonso.

References

  1. ^ a b c "LV Campeonato de España Absoluto en Pista Cubierta Centro de Tecnificación de Atletismo - Antequera 1.500m Mujeres Semifinal 1/3" (PDF). p. 109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Marta García at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  3. ^ a b c d e "Marta García, bronce en los Campeonatos Mediterráneos sub-23". leonoticias.com (in Spanish).
  4. ^ a b "Our Athletes: Marta Garcia". On.
  5. ^ "Spain to send 24 athletes to Kampala". World Athletics.
  6. ^ "España logra un histórico bronce por equipos en la categoría sub 20 femenina". marca.com (in Spanish).
  7. ^ "España, plata europea por equipos en la sub'23 femenina de Tilburg". sport.es (in Spanish).
  8. ^ "Marta García se cuelga el bronce en Marsella". lanuevacronica.com (in Spanish).
  9. ^ "Marta lidera con su bronce el éxito español en Miramas". diariodeleon.es (in Spanish).
  10. ^ "Marta García se replantea el objetivo de Tokio con un pie en los 1.500m y otro en 5.000m". Runner's World (in Spanish).
  11. ^ "On x LtW: A Million Dreams". Like The Wind Magazine.
  12. ^ "Marta García ve "alcanzable" el objetivo del mundial de Budapest". soycorredor.es.
  13. ^ "Marta García consigue un genial bronce europeo en Roma en 5.000m y bate el récord de España de Julia Vaquero". runnersworld.com.