Rodolfo Gómez

Rodolfo Gómez Orozco (born 30 October 1950 in Delicias, Chihuahua) is a Mexican former long-distance runner who was one of the leading runners represented from Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s. He won the Tokyo Marathon, the IAAF Citizen Golden Marathon in Athens (1982), the Rotterdam Marathon (1982), the Nike OTC Marathon (1982), the Pittsburgh Marathon (1987) and the Mexico City Marathon (1987). He gained prominence on American television in 1982 when he finished in second place, four seconds back in 2:09:33 while being the primary foil to Alberto Salazar's third victory in a row at the New York Marathon. He ran a personal best of 2:09:12 at the 1983 Tokyo Marathon, finishing third in that race.

Gómez was an All-American runner for the UTEP Miners track and field team, placing 7th in the 5000 metres at the 1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Gómez represented Mexico at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1976. Later on he became an athletics coach, guiding runners like Andrés Espinosa, Germán Silva, Benjamín Paredes, Adriana Fernández, Isaac García, Martín Pitayo, and Isidro Rico.

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