Ma del Carmen Fernández Peñafiel is dedicated a hundred percent to athletic, besides practicing it, she has a children’s team called “Corredores del Viento.”
Mary Carmen was born in Mexico City, the day that spring begins, on March 21, 1956. She describes herself as a very cheerful, and supportive woman. She says that her family is lovely and like her, they are all athletes. Pablo, her husband, was an ice hockey player and their children, Alejandra and Pablo are gymnast and soccer player, respectively. As a family, they support each other at all times and enjoy being able to share time together.
Mary Carmen began practicing ice skating at age 16, specializing in speed. That was her start as an athlete. However, when the only ice rink that existed in Mexico City was closed in 1985, she tried athletics and, since then, she has not stopped practicing it.
Six months after starting as an athlete she competed in the National First Force Championship, where she obtained the second place in 1,500m. Therefore, she had the opportunity to represent her country in the North, Central and Caribbean Championship, in The Bahamas. Then in 1986, for the second year in a row, she won silver in the 1500m, in the National First Force Championship, and reached the required mark to represent Mexico in the Central American and Caribbean Games.
This middle distance runner managed to reach her best marks at the famous Mt. Sac Relays Track and Field Festival in Walnut, California, where she won the gold medal in the 3000m, with a mark of 9:43, and the fourth place in the 1500m, with a time of 4:30. There, Mary Carmen had the chance to be with Olympic athletes like Carl Lewis, among others.
Subsequently, at age 40 she started competing in the master category. She has won National Records in the 800m and 1500m events and, in some cases, also in the 400m flat. As a master athlete, Mary Carmen has all the Mexican records in her events, from the W40 to the W60 category, and regularly appears in the World Ranking.
As a master athlete, one of the championships that she most enjoyed was the National Championship in Boca del Río, Veracruz, in 2001, in the category of 45 to 49 years (W45). There she set the record of 2:23 and 4:49 in 800m and 1500m, respectively, which are still valid. The first World Athletics Master Championship that this Mexican athlete attended was in Puerto Rico in 2003, where she won gold medals in 800 m and 1500 m. Fernandez comments that, on that occasion, after having competed in the 1500m, she went running to the seashore and that the feeling of having two gold medals hung on his chest was the glory.
Besides, Mary Carmen competed in the Master World Athletics Championships in Sacramento, California, in 2011, where she won two silver medals and in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2013, where she earned a silver medal in the 800m, bronze in the 1500m. In the Word Master Ranking 2017 Mary Carmen is in the fourth position her category, in 800m, and second in the Ranking of North-Central America and the Caribbean Region, and first in Mexico.
Mary Carmen remembers that when she traveled to Sacramento, California, with her family, her suitcase, the mostcolorful, green, white and red with the word “Mexico!” was lost. The whole family was worried trying to locate it, running from office to office. However, she was undaunted by such situation, when her family noticed her attitude they asked her why she was not worried? She, confidently, replied, “Because I bring everything I need to compete with me: my Mexican uniform and my spikes.”
Whenever Mary Carmen finishes running, she says “How happy I feel, and now everything is better!”, Because of the practice of athletics has brought her health, safety, harmony and emotional stability. She longs to achieve another world medal and keep running for a while longer. Her biggest commitment is to give all his experience to the little future athletes of “Corredores del Viento.”