She was born in the province of Junín, in a place two and a half hours from Huancayo, where she grew up running through the plains and under the rain. Her mother was the one who motivated her to achieve her first goals; then time would do its job and would place Gladys where she deserves, at the top of the podium with the Peruvian flag. We leave you with the incredible story of this great adventure athlete specialist in the Cross Country discipline.
Photo: TodomenosfutbolGladys is an educator by profession and although as a child she dreamed watching the Olympics on television, she never imagined that her desire to qualify for the Olympic Games would come true so quickly. In the blink of an eye, she went from chasing her father, who was on horseback herding his cows, to parading in the opening ceremony of London 2012 wearing a typical outfit from her native Junín.
Photo: DeportespeLondon 2012
How did she qualify? Gladys placed fourth in the Seoul International Marathon in South Korea, which earned her the "A" standard thanks to her time of 2 hours, 32 minutes, and 32 seconds in 42 kilometers. This allowed her to secure her participation in the London Olympics.
Photo: WikipediaMexico 2013
In the marathon in Mexico City, Gladys broke a hegemony and made history. Since 2002, Kenyan runners had dominated this race; the last Latin American to stand on the podium had been Mexican Edilberto Mendez in 2009, but the Africans were practically unbeatable.
Photo: AtletismoperuanoThat day, Gladys Tejeda and Raúl Pacheco, another Peruvian athlete, made history in the Mexican country. Both arrived first in both categories: male and female, and at dusk, the Peruvian flag waved high in the capital of Mexico.
Puerto Rico 2014
Another joy for Peru abroad. This time, Gladys was the fastest in the 52nd edition of the San Blas Half Marathon in Puerto Rico. Tejeda finished the competition with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 35 seconds, defeating the Ethiopian Emebet Badada, who was the reigning champion until that moment.
Photo: cdn.tuteve
National Record
The athletics track at Stanford University in California witnessed how Gladys Tejeda broke the record for the 10,000 meters set by her compatriot Inés Melchor in 2012.
Photo: JcmagazineTejeda covered the 10,000 meters in just 33 minutes, 6 seconds, and 99 hundredths, six seconds faster than the time of Huancavelica's Inés Melchor of 33 minutes, 7 seconds, and 75 hundredths.
Colombia 2015
During the last Pan American Cross Country Championship held in Barranquilla, our athlete and four other runners managed to qualify for the World Cross Country Championship in China on March 28.
Photo: Peru21Gladys won the gold medal in the senior category, showing that she is a very strong runner and adaptable to all terrains, her time for the 7-kilometer race was 21 minutes and 18 seconds, securing her spot in the world championship.
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