José Gómez

In the late 1970s and early 1980s José Gómez was one of the best distance runners in Mexico. At the start of his career Gómez focused on the 5,000 metres, winning bonze at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1978, and silver at the Summer Universiade the following year. He then moved up to the 10,000 metres and competed at the 1980 Moskva and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. His biggest win came at the 1983 Pan American Games when he won gold in the race in Caracas. The same year he also became the first Mexican athlete to run the 10,000 metres in under 28 minutes, when he ran 27:56.74 at the Prefontaine Classic event. Gómez also had multiple top-ten finishes in marathon races around the world including eighth in New York (1982), sixth in Rotterdam (1983), sixth in Chicago (1985), and third in Los Angeles (1987).

Personal Best: 10000 – 27:56.74 (1983).