Maria de Lurdes Mutola (born October 27, 1972 in
Maputo) is an athlete from Mozambique who has
specialized in the 800 m.
Mutola was born in the Chamanculo district of
Maputo. Her father was employed by the railways and
her mother was a market vendor. As a young girl she
excelled in football. She played with boys, as there
were no leagues or teams for girls. In 1988, at only
fifteen years of age, she was encouraged to take up
athletics by one of Mozambique's foremost literary
figures, the poet Jose Craveirinha, who was a keen
sports fan. His son Stelio, himself a former
national long jump record holder, was Mutola's first
coach. Not used to the intensive training, Mutola
initially decided that running was not for her, but
was persuaded to continue when it became obvious
that she had immense potential. After a visit to
Portugal, plans were made for her to join the
Benfica athletics club but at the last minute the
Mozambique government denied her permission. That
year, after only a few months' training, she won a
silver medal in the 800 m at the African
Championships, before competing in the 1988 Summer
Olympics. She ran a personal best time of 2:04.36,
but finished last in her first round heat. Mutola
was still only fifteen years old.
Over the next few years Mutola failed to improve on
her best time, but still won gold at the African
Championships in Cairo in 1990. She faced little
opposition in Mozambique and only trained properly
in the run-up to big competitions. Attempts were
made to organise scholarships for her to train
abroad, but it was not until 1991 that, thanks to an
International Olympic Committee Solidarity Program,
she went to Oregon, USA to study and train.
Springfield High School was the host school, due to
the fact that there was a Portuguese-speaking staff
member (Mutola spoke no English). She surprised many
by finishing 4th in the final of the 1991 IAAF World
Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, where her time
of 1:57.63 constituted a World Junior Record. Mutola
lost out on a medal because she was severely impeded
in the final few metres by falling athletes and an
unsuccessful protest was lodged.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona there were
great hopes for Mutola to win Mozambique's first
Olympic medal. She ran strongly but faded badly in
the home straight, eventually finishing fifth behind
eventual winner Ellen van Langen. At the same Games,
Mutola ran her only 1500 m at an international
championship, placing 9th in the final. She also won
the IAAF World Cup 800 m and was the only person to
beat Ellen van Langen throughout the whole year.
