participant_of fernando mamede
The ___MASK72___ , officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad , was an international multi - sport event held in Los Angeles , California , United States in 1984 . When Tehran , the only other interested city on the international level , declined to bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes , the IOC awarded Los Angeles the Games by default . This was the second occasion Los Angeles hosted the games , the first being in 1932 . Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes , ( born February 18 , 1947 ) is a Portuguese former long - distance runner , winner of the marathon race at the ___MASK72___ , in Los Angeles . He brought home Portugal ' s first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record  2 : 09 . 21 . The modern ___MASK90___ or Olympics are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions . The ___MASK90___ are considered the world ' s foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating . The ___MASK90___ are held every four years , with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart . The 10 , 000 metres or 10 , 000 - meter run is a common long - distance track running event . The event is part of the athletics programme at the ___MASK90___ and the World Championships in Athletics and is common at championship level events . The race consists of 25 laps around an Olympic - sized track . It is less commonly held at track and field meetings , due to its duration . The 10 , 000 metres track race is usually distinguished from its road running counterpart , the 10K run , by its reference to the distance in metres rather than kilometres . Fernando Eugénio Pacheco Mamede , ComM ( born 1 November 1951 ) is a former Portuguese athlete , a long distance running specialist . He was born in Beja . Together with Carlos Lopes , he is one of the best Portuguese male long distance runners ever , and held the 10 , 000 metres world record ( 1984 - 1989 ) with a time of 27 : 13 . 81 until bested by Arturo Barrios of Mexico . However , he never won any high - level competition as he dealt very badly with pressure . In the European and World Athletics Championships and Olympics where he competed between 1971 and 1984 , he either was eliminated from the finals , placed outside the top ten runners in them or dropped out of the final . In the 1983 World Championships in Athletics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics , he ran excellently in the 10 , 000 - metre qualifying heats , but he placed 14th in the World Championships final and failed to finish in the Olympic final . He remains one of fastest Europeans of all time in the 10 , 000 metres . Mamede also competed in cross country running , taking part in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships eleven times . His cross country career was highlighted by a bronze medal at the 1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and two wins at the Cross Internacional de Itálica . Road running is the ___MASK33___ of running on a measured course over an established road ( as opposed to track and field and cross country running ).