Brenda Flores

She was inspired to take up athletics after seeing Mexican Ana Guevara claim the 400 metres world title in 2003.

Becoming a long-distance runner, she began instead to look to Mexico's former New York Marathon champion Adriana Fernández as a role model.

[4] Her native Mexico was the host of two major competitions that year and she won medals at both: she was the inaugural 5000 m champion at the Pan American Sports Festival and claimed a 5000 m/10,000 m long-distance double at the Central American and Caribbean Games, which included a games record in the shorter event.

[5][6][7] She also gained her first global level call-up that year, representing the Americas at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, where she placed sixth in the 5000 m.[8] Flores ran at the New York Half Marathon in March 2015 and although she set a new best of 73:54 minutes for the distance, this was only enough for 19th in the high calibre race.

[4] She reached another international podium at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, taking the 5000 m silver medal behind Brazil's Juliana Paula dos Santos.