María Pérez has been participating in major international events since 2013. She qualified for the U18 World Championships in Donetsk , where she finished seventh over the 5000 meter distance. The following year she again took part in the Junior World Championships , this time in those of the U20 in the athletics mecca of the USA, in Eugene . There she finished fifth over twice the distance.
At the U20 European Championships in Eskilstuna , she reached fourth place. For the 10,000-meter distance, she needed around half a minute less than a year earlier at the World Championships. She has been running the 20-kilometer distance since 2017. At the U23 European Championships in Bydgoszcz , Poland , she won the silver medal in 1:31:29 h. At the subsequent World Championships in London she took part in a major adult event for the first time. She improved her time by almost two minutes, finishing in tenth place overall.
With her victory at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018 , she achieved her greatest sporting success to date. With a time of 1:26:36 h, she not only improved her best time by three minutes, but also set a new Spanish and U23 record. A year later she finished eighth at the World Championships in Doha in 1:35:43 h.
Spain
Donetsk
Eugene
Eskilstuna
Bydgoszcz
London
Berlin
Doha