Álvaro Mejía

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameÁlvaro•Mejía Flórez
Used nameÁlvaro•Mejía
Nick/petnamesLa Cobra
Born15 May 1940 in Medellín, Antioquia (COL)
Died12 January 2021 in Bogotá, Bogotá (COL)
Measurements178 cm / 67 kg
NOC Colombia

Biography

Álvaro Mejía was a Colombian distance runner who ran at the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympics, with a best finish of 10th in the 1968 10,000 metres. Mejía won four gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games, taking the 1962 1,500 metres and, in 1966, he won the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 metres. He also won that triple at the 1965 Bolivarian Games. At the Pan American Games he won bronze in the 1971 10K. Mejía was a four-time Colombian Champion, winning the 10K and half-marathon in 1964 and the 5 and 10K in 1965.

Mejía later turned to the roads, winning multiple races, most notably the 1971 Boston Marathon, but he also won the 1966 São Silvestre Road Race in Brazil. At the 1964 Olympics he met American swimmer Terri Lee Stickles, who he later married, although the marriage would end in divorce.

Personal Bests: 5000 – 13:53.4 (1964); 10000 – 29:06.97 (1971); Mar – 2-17:23 (1971).

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1964 Summer Olympics Athletics COL Álvaro Mejía
5,000 metres, Men (Olympic) 13 h2 r1/2
10,000 metres, Men (Olympic) DNS
1968 Summer Olympics Athletics COL Álvaro Mejía
5,000 metres, Men (Olympic) DNS
10,000 metres, Men (Olympic) 10
1972 Summer Olympics Athletics COL Álvaro Mejía
Marathon, Men (Olympic) 48

Olympic family relations

Special Notes