Maria de Lurdes Mutola
- Born
- Oct 27, 1972 (54 years old)
- Birthplace
- Maputo, Mozambique
- Events
- 800 m · 1000 Metres
- Height
- 1.65 m
- Weight
- 63 kg
Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( mə-REE-ə moo-TOH-lə; born 27 October 1972) is a retired Mozambican female track and field who specialised in the 800 metres running event. She is only the fourth female track and field athlete to compete at six Olympic Games.
She is a three-time world champion in this event and a one-time Olympic champion. Although Mutola never broke the world record in her favourite event, she is regarded by many track insiders and fans as one of the greatest 800 metres female runners of all time due to her consistently good results in major championships and her exceptional longevity which saw her compete at the highest level for two decades before retiring from athletics in 2008 at the age of 35.
She is also the only athlete ever to have won Olympic, World, World indoor, Commonwealth Games, Continental Games and Continental Championships titles in the same event. She is also the main coach and mentor of Caster Semenya.
As of Nov 6, 2026: 800 m 1:55.19 (#13 all-time), 1000 Metres 2:29.34, 2008 season best 1:57.68 (Aug 18, 2008, National Stadium, Beijing (CHN)) · Last competition: Weltklasse Zürich, Aug 29, 2008, 1:58.71 · Olympic Games: 1 gold, 1 bronze · World Championships: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze · World record (1000 Metres Short Track) · 54 years old
Personal bests
WA points calculator →Medals
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 1 | – | 1 | 2 |
| World Championships | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Progression
| Season | Discipline | Result | Wind | Date | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 800m | 1:57.68 | – | Aug 18, 2008 | The XXIX Olympic Games, National Stadium, Beijing |
| 2008 | 800m-short-track Indoor | 1:59.48 | – | Feb 10, 2008 | Karlsruhe (GER) (i) |
| 2008 | 800m-short-track | 1:59.48 | – | Feb 10, 2008 | – |
| 2008 | 1500m | 4:09.86 | – | May 9, 2008 | Doha (QAT) |
| 2007 | 800m | 1:56.98 | – | Aug 26, 2007 | IAAF World Championships |
| 2006 | 800m | 1:56.77 | – | Jul 11, 2006 | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne (SUI) |
| 2006 | 800m-short-track Indoor | 1:58.90 | – | Mar 12, 2006 | Moskva IAAF World Indoor Championships, Olimpiyskiy Stadion, Moskva (i) |
| 2006 | 800m-short-track | 2:00.81 | – | Feb 26, 2006 | – |