Carmen Valero Omedes (4 October 1955 – 2 January 2024) was a Spanish middle-distance runner, who was best known for representing her native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

[3][7][8] Valero won two consecutive women's races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1976 and 1977,[7][8][9] while also winning the bronze medal at the same competition in 1975.

[3][10] Born in Castelserás, Spain,[2][10] Valero moved to Cerdanyola with her family as a child,[6][11] after her elder sister had been diagnosed with asthma.

[6][12] At the age of 12, she took part in the Jean Bouin [es] race, held on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, under the false name of "Teodora Rodríguez", having still not obtained an official sporting license.

[6][13] In 1969, Valero joined her first club, Joventut Atlètica Sabadell [ca], where she started training under coach Josep Molíns and taking part in her first cross-country competitions,[2][10][14] while carrying on with her studies and a side job.

[10] In 1975, aged 19,[3] she won the bronze medal in the senior women's race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rabat,[3][6] trailing behind only Julie Brown and Bronisława Ludwichowska.

[3][10][11] Upon reaching the finish line, she rebuked at a member of the Spanish Federation, Julio Bravo,[24] who had mocked her and other female athletes the day before the race.

"Later that same year, Valero took part in the Summer Olympics in Montreal, competing in the 800-metre and the 1500-metre races,[2][11][25] and eventually failing to progress through the heats of both categories.

[6][26] However, two years later – shortly after the birth of her daughter – she returned to train consistently,[6][26] and eventually convinced the Federation to let her take part in the Spanish Cross Country Championship, where she won the race;[12][26] despite having qualified for that year's World Championships, she declined the invitation, ironically urging a member of the Federation to "put a skirt on" and sign up instead.

[7][8] Valero officially retired from running competitions in 1987,[10] shortly after criticizing the Spanish Federation for not calling her up for the World Cross Country Championships in Poland.

[10] In December 2017,[32] Valero collected a special Human Rights prize, awarded by the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, on behalf of Kathrine Switzer, who had become the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor.

[11] In May 2023, she was invited to take part in the fourth Memorial Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo, held at the Complutense University of Madrid.