María Isabel Pérez (sprinter)
Spanish Olympic athlete
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
María Isabel Pérez Rodríguez (born 1 March 1993) is a Spanish sprinter. She competed for Spain at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
_2022.jpg)
Pérez in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | María Isabel Pérez Rodríguez |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Born | 1 March 1993 Seville, Spain |
| Height | 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and Field |
Event | 100 metres |
Medal record | |
Early life
She was born in Seville, but grew up living in Jerez de la Frontera. She started out in athletics at the Puma Chapín Jerez club when she was seven years-old.[1]
Career
Perez ran for Spain the 2018 European Athletics Championships in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Berlin, Germany.[2] She competed in the individual 100 metres at the 2020 Olympic Games, she finished fifth in her heat running a time of 11.51.[3]
She was part of the Spanish 4 × 100 m team that finished fifth at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, breaking the Spanish national record and running 42.58 seconds.[4] She was selected for the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich in August 2022 to run both the individual 100 metres and the 4 × 100 m relay.[5] The relay team finished fourth in the final with a time of 43.03 seconds.[6]
She ran as part of the Spanish 4 × 100 m relay team at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.[7] She was selected for the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in June 2024 to run both the individual 100 metres and the 4 × 100 m relay.[8] At the Championships, the Spanish relay team qualified for the final, and placed fifth overall.[9]
She was officially selected for the 2024 Paris Olympics in July 2024.[10] In the relay, the team ran a seasons best 42.77 seconds but did not progress to the final.[11]
She set a new Spanish record of 7.15 seconds and won the Spanish national 60 metres title in February 2025.[12] She was selected for the 60 metres at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Appeldoorn where she qualified for the semi-finals.[13] She was selected for the Spanish relay pool for the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China.[14] In the 4 x 100 metres relay she was part of a team alongside Jaël Bestué, Esperança Cladera, Paula Sevilla who won their opening race ahead of Jamaica containing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, with a time of 42.18 seconds, setting a Spanish national record, and ensuring qualification for the 2025 World Championships.[15] She was part of the Spanish 4 x 100 metres team, again alongside Esperança Cladera, Sevilla and Bestue, which set another new Spanish record of 42.11 seconds at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division in Madrid on 28 June.[16]
In September 2025, she competed as the Spanish team finished fifth in the women's 4 x 100 metres at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[17][18]
Perez was selected as part of the Spain team for the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, and ran in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay and in the mixed 4 x 100 metres relay team which both qualified from the heats on the opening day of competition.[19][20] The following day, she ran in the women's quartet which won the bronze medal in the final behind Jamaica and Canada.[21] Calbano competed alongside Spanish teammates Guillem Crespí, Andoni Calbano and Jael Bestue, Pérez won the bronze medal in the mixed 4 × 100 m at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, in August 2026.[22][23] She also competed in the women's 100 metres at the championships, reaching the semi-finals.[24]
Personal life
She studied physiotherapy at the University of Seville.[25] She subsequently worked as a physiotherapist in Seville. She is coached by her uncle Luis Rodríguez who competed for Spain at the 1991 World Athletics Championships.[2]
Athletic Achievements
Personal bests
| Type | Distance | Time (s) | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual events | ||||||
| Indoor | 60 metres | 7.15 | N/a | Madrid, Spain | 22 February 2025 | NR |
| Outdoor | 100 metres | 11.07 | +1.6 | Nerja, Spain | 25 June 2022 | |
| 200 metres | 24.28 | -1.7 | Pamplona, Spain | 1 June 2019 | ||
| Team events | ||||||
| Indoor | 4 × 200 metres relay sh | 1:38.99 | N/a | Valencia, Spain | 30 January 2016 | |
| Outdoor | 4 × 100 metres relay | 42.11 | N/a | Madrid, Spain | 28 June 2025 | NR |
