Mariano Haro

The talent of Mariano Haro was first noticed when he won the Spanish junior cross-country championship in both 1960 and 1961. This was just the beginning of an incredible career for Haro, who went on to be one of the best distance runners Spain has ever produced. He dominated distance and cross-country running throughout the 1960s and 1970s and won 27 Spanish titles. A specialist in the cross-country event, Haro won 11 individual national titles (1962–63, 1968–69, 1971–77) and four national titles in the team race (1974–77). He also won the Spanish title in the 10,000 metres (1962, 1964–65, 1969–71, 1973–74), 5,000 metres (1962, 1964–65, 1969–70), and the 3,000 metres steeplechase (1967).

Haro first competed at a major international event in 1962 when he ran in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the Ibero-American Games, finishing third and second, respectively. After winning the cross-country title at the 1965 European Athletics Cup he then won bronze in the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 1967 Mediterranean Games. His performance in the latter earned him a spot on the Spanish Olympic team for the 1968 Mexico City Games. Haro ran in the second of three heats in the steeplechase in Mexico, but the race did not go without incident, as the Spanish athlete was disqualified. He originally finished fifth but was adjudged to have cleared the first obstacle on the final lap with his hands, leading to his disqualification. The outcome, however, contradicted the IAAF regulations, which stated that an athlete could use their hands on an obstacle.

Despite the controversy of his Olympic disqualification, Haro continued to have success at international events, and won silver in the 10,000 metres at the 1971 Mediterranean Games. The following year he competed at his second Olympics, running in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the 1972 München Games. In the 10,000 metres Haro just missed out on a medal when he came fourth, setting a Spanish record in the process. In the 5,000 metres he qualified for the final but ultimately did not finish the race. In 1975 he won another silver in the 10,000 metres at the Mediterranean Games before finishing sixth in the same event at the 1976 Montréal Olympics. Haro retired from athletics after the Montréal Games and moved into politics, serving as the mayor of Becerril de Campos from 1979 to 2003.

Personal Bests: 5000 – 13:26.03 (1972); 10000 – 27:48.14 (1972); 3000S – 8:37.2 (1968).