Virginie Gloum

Long-distance runner Virginie Gloum set several national records in the Central African Republic before making her first appearance in a major international tournament at the 1995 World Championships. There she finished 16th and last in her qualifying heat in the 10,000 meters, yet still set a national record of 40:07.49, far behind upcoming gold medalist Fernanda Ribeiro of Portugal’s heat-winning time of 32:33.87. This remains a Central African Republic record as of 2015, as does her marathon time of 3:28.41, set in June 1994. Gloum’s next stop was the 1996 Summer Olympics, where a bureaucratic error allowed her to take part, yet not have her results recorded officially. An incorrect qualifying time on her entry sheet cleared her to compete as having passed the A-level IAAF standard when, in reality, no athletes from her nation had met any standards and thus the Central African Republic could enter only one female athlete. Since Denise Ouabangui had competed earlier in the 400 m, this made Gloum ineligible. Yet because this was not communicated to the NOC, Gloum showed up for the race and was permitted to run, even though she was not on the start list. Her exact time was not recorded, but was just over three and a half hours, which would have placed her behind the last official finisher, Marie Benito of Guam. Nevertheless, the official results of the day listed her (as well as Valentina Enachi, a Moldovan athlete who was also the victim of a bureaucratic mistake) as an unofficial competitor and the Olympic report does not mention her at all.

Gloum continued to compete through the 1990s and was entered in the 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships senior women’s race, but did not start. Her final major competition was the women’s marathon at the 1999 All-Africa Games, but once again she did not start the event. She retired from active competition shortly after to make use of her accounting degree.

Personal Best: Mar – 3-28:41 (1994).