"Carmen Valero has left us. Our pioneer. The woman who paved the way. The mother of our athletics. The first Olympic athlete. Two-time world cross-country champion. The best Spanish athlete of the 20th century," the RFEA wrote in a message on X (formerly Twitter). 

"She suffered a stroke before the end of the year. After being in a coma for several days, she was taken off the respirator today, but her heart is still beating," the association said in another message published a few hours earlier.

Valero was a pioneer of women's athletics in Spain. A multiple national champion in various distances (800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m) and two-time world cross-country champion (1976 and 1977), she made her mark on her country's sporting history when she became the first Spanish woman to compete at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. 

"Today is a very sad day, it is impossible for us to say goodbye to the woman who changed our history. Carmen was an innate talent in circumstances that were almost impossible for women. We are what we are today because of her. We will never forget you," wrote the president of the RFEA Raúl Chapado, in X.

The Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) recalled that Valero was "a reference, an example and a guide for all the women who have followed in her footsteps." 

"Her legacy is indelible. She was Spain's first female Olympic athlete and twice crowned world cross-country champion," concluded the highest Spanish sports body.