Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner. He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olympic record for the event. In 1985, Lopes set the marathon world record at 2:07:12 at the Rotterdam Marathon. Early life Lopes was born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal. He worked as a stonecutter's helper. Lopes wanted to play football at his local club, but his father opposed this, so he turned to other forms of athletics. In 1967 he was invited to join the athletics team of Sporting Clube de Portugal, and remained there until the end of his career in 1985. Career Lopes won the World Cross Country Championships in Chepstow, Wales in 1976. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Lopes competed in the 10,000 metres. In the race, Lopes set the pace from the 4000 metres mark, and the only athlete to follow him was defending double Olympic champion Lasse Virén. Virén passed Lopes with a lap to go to win the gold medal, and Lopes finished a comfortable second. During the race, Lopes ran the first 5,000 metres in 14:08.94, and the second 5,000 metres in 13:36.23, a remarkable proof of his ability to steadily accelerate his pace. What he generally lacked in the track races, however, was an ability to sharply increase his pace in the final lap or so. In the following year, Lopes finished second to Leon Schots in World Cross Country Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany. Afterward, Lopes had several injuries and did not qualify for 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In 1982, Lopes returned to top form, and in Oslo, Norway, he broke the 10,000 metres European record with a time of 27:24.39, which belonged to his teammate Fernando Mamede. At the 1982 European Athletics Championships in Athens, Greece, Lopes finished fourth in the 10,000 metres with a time of 27:47.95, behind the winner Alberto Cova. During the race, he set the pace from 6,000 metres to 9,800 metres before being overtaken on the final lap. Lopes attempted his first marathon at the 1982 New York City Marathon, but he did not finish due to an accident in which he ran into a spectator. In 1983, he finished second at the World Cross Country Championships in Gateshead, England. Lopes ran his second marathon