Jefferson Pérez

About Jefferson Pérez

Jefferson Leonardo Pérez Quezada (born July 1, 1974 in Cuenca) is a retired Ecuadorian race walker. He specialized in the 20 km event, in which he has won the only two medals his country has ever achieved in the Olympic Games.

Medals:

He won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, becoming the youngest-ever gold medal winner in the 20 km walk event. Following his win he embarked on a 459 km pilgrimage, walking, jogging and running from Quito's Franciscan cathedral to his hometown of Cuenca.In the 2008 Olympics he won the silver medal in the same competition at 34 years of age, before announcing his retirement from the sport.

In the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, Pérez also set the world best performance (as there are no world records in race walking) with 1:17:21 in the 20 km.

Pérez had fourth-place finishes in the 20 km walk at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The beginnings:

He entered race-walking by accident. To prepare for a walk that served as a high school physical education exam, he asked his brother Fabián to train for one week next to the group of athletes directed by trainer Luis Muñoz. Muñoz decided to invite him to compete in a race. With few weeks of preparation he won the race AID, winning the right of representing Ecuador in New York and London as a sport ambassador.

Initially he participated in distance competitions of five kilometres. Later he had to make a radical decision, which was to dedicate himself completely to race walking. His first regional trophy in the 5K walk during the South American Pre-Junior championship held in his native city of Cuenca.

First International Achievement:

His first international achievement occurred when he won the bronze medal in the Junior World Cup of Athletics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 1990.Two years later, he won the Junior World title in Seoul, Korea, followed shortly by victories in South American and Pan-American open competitions. His crowning achievement in race-walking came with a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He won a silver medal, his second medal, at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Jefferson Pérez Achievements

Gold Medal:

1988 South American Youth Championships in Athletics

1989 South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1990 South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1990 South American Race Walking Cup

1990 South American Youth Championships in Athletics

1991 South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1991 South American Race Walking Cup (U20)

1992 South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1991 South American Race Walking Cup (U20)

1992 South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics

1992 South American Race Walking Cup (U20)

1993 Bolivarian Games

1993  South American Junior Championships in Athletics

1993  South American Championships in Athletics

1993  Pan American Junior Championships in Athletics

1994 South American Race Walking Cup

1995 South American Race Walking Cup

1995 Pan American Games

1996 South American Race Walking Cup

1996 Olympic Games

1996 South American Race Walking Cup

1996 World Race Walking Cup

1997 Bolivarian Games

1998 South American Race Walking Cup

1998 South American Games

2000 South American Race Walking Cup

2001 Bolivarian Games

2001 South American Race Walking Cup

2001 South American Race Walking Cup

2002 World Race Walking Cup

2002 Ibero-American Championships

2003 Pan American Race Walking Cup

2003 Pan American Games

2003 World Championships

2004 World Race Walking Cup

2005 South American Championships in Athletics

2005 World Championships in Athletics

2006 South American Race Walking Championships in Athletics

2007 Pan American Race Walking Cup

2007 Pan American Games

2007 World Championships in Athletics

Silver medal :

1991 Pan American Junior Championships

1999 World Championships

2001 Pan American Race Walking Cup

2001 Pan American Race Walking Cup

2003 Pan American Race Walking Cup

2004 World Race Walking Cup

2005 Bolivarian Games

2006 South American Race Walking Championships

2006 World Race Walking Cup

2008 Olympic Games

Bronze medal:

1990 World Junior Championships

1992 Ibero-American Championships

1994 Pan American Race Walking Cup

1998 Goodwill Games

1999 Pan American Games

2000 Pan American Race Walking Cup