The athletics track in Faro will now be called Artur Lara Ramos Athletics Track, at a posthumous tribute ceremony scheduled for Monday, September 7, at 12:00, as part of the celebrations of the municipal holiday. The infrastructure, located at one of the entrances to the city, received the name of the former coach and administrator who died on December 26, 2025, at the age of 78, from sudden illness. The proposal was presented by the municipal executive a few days after his death, having been approved by the executive and ratified by the Municipal Assembly.
The ceremony recognizes the role of Artur Lara Ramos in the completion of a project dreamed of for decades in the city, but only inaugurated in 2008 after an investment slightly exceeding four million euros. The motion approved by the municipal bodies states that he was one of the main promoters of the process, having participated from the choice of the implantation site to the project and construction phases, which underwent changes, going from six to eight lanes.
A native of Alfena, in the municipality of Valongo, Artur Lara Ramos represented FC Porto and Sporting as an athlete, specializing in sprinting, pole vault and long jump. He settled in the Algarve in 1975, after working in the district of Santarém as a technician for the General Directorate of Sports, and served as a teacher in schools in Faro and Olhão. At the Liceu de Faro, now Escola Secundária João de Deus, he coached Olympic long-distance runner Ezequiel Canário throughout his entire career, having also worked with teams such as Farense, Farauto, Louletano, Imortal and Grupo Desportivo de Vilamoura.
Founder of the International Cross of the Almond Trees, held for the first time in Vilamoura in 1977, Artur Lara Ramos also served as regional technical director, president of the Athletics Association of the Algarve, national selector and director of international cross-country, track and road competitions, including world and European championships. At the time of his death, he was coaching only the young sprinter Tiago Almeida, who dedicated his qualification for this year's European Under-18 Championships to his memory, after being coached by Rui Costa and Filipe Lara Ramos, the former coach's son.
