Jefferson Leonardo Pérez Quezada (born 1 July 1974) is an Ecuadorian retired race walker. He specialised in the 20 km event, in which he won the first two medals his country achieved in the Olympic Games.

Early life

Pérez was born in El Vecino, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Cuenca, to Manuel Jesús Pérez and María Lucrecia Quezada. Like others in his neighborhood, his family was of limited economic means. He attended the elementary schools Eugenio Espejo and Gabriela Cevallos. Afterwards he entered the Francisco Febres Cordero high school, at the same time working to help out his family.

He graduated in Business Engineering and later obtained an MBA (Master in Business Administration) from the University of Azuay in Ecuador.

Career

Pérez 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 City and London as a sport ambassador.

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

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.

Olympic Games Pérez won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, becoming the youngest ever Olympic race walk champion. Following his win he embarked on a pilgrimage, walking, jogging and running from Quito's Franciscan cathedral to his hometown of Cuenca."True Olympians"

He won a silver medal, his second medal, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He had fourth-place finishes in the 20 km walk at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

World Championships Pérez won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships in Seville.

He then won three consecutive gold medals from 2003 to 2007 at the World Championships in Paris, Helsinki, and Osaka, the only person that has been able to achieve this feat.

Pérez's winning time of 1:17:21 in 2003 became the first official world record for the 20 km walk when standards for road events were recognised from 2004 onwards and he received a financial bonus.

Retirement

Pérez walked his final race at the World Race Walking Challenge final in Murcia, Spain. He finished third in that race and second in the overall challenge standings.

He announced his retirement from the sport in 2008."Ecuadorian walker Jefferson Perez trains alone for Beijing-2008", Xinhua, 23 April 2008.

Personal bests Event Result Venue DateRoad walk10 km 38:24 min Kraków 8 June 200220 km 1:17:21 hrs Paris Saint-Denis 23 August 200350 km 3:53:04 hrs Athens 27 August 2004Track walk10,000 m 38:37.6 min (ht) Bergen 9 May 199820,000 m 1:20:54.9 hrs (ht) Cali 5 July 2008

International competitions 1988South American Youth ChampionshipsCuenca, Ecuador1st5 km24:44.4 1989South American Junior ChampionshipsMontevideo, Uruguay1st10,000 m45:03.711990South American Junior ChampionshipsBogotá, Colombia1st10,000 m42:57.95 World Junior ChampionshipsPlovdiv, Bulgaria3rd10,000 m40:08.23South American Race Walking Cup (U20)Guayaquil, Ecuador1st10 km44:31.9South American Youth ChampionshipsLima, Peru1st5 km19:49.541991World Indoor ChampionshipsSevilla, Spain10th5000 m20:20.05South American Junior ChampionshipsAsunción, Paraguay1st10,000 m43:10.1South American ChampionshipsManaus, Brazil –20 kmDQPan American Junior ChampionshipsKingston, Jamaica2nd10,000 m44:06.11South American Race Walking Cup (U20)Bogotá, Colombia1st10 km42:48.6 1992Ibero-American ChampionshipsSeville, Spain3rd20 km1:25:50.5Olympic GamesBarcelona, Spain —20 kmDNFSouth American Junior ChampionshipsLima, Peru1st10,000 m45:31.2World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea1st10,000 m40:42.66South American Race Walking Cup (U20)São Paulo, Brazil1st10 km45:391993Bolivarian GamesCochabamba, Bolivia1st20 km1:26:19 South American Junior ChampionshipsPuerto La Cruz, Venezuela1st10,000 m42:24.2South American ChampionshipsLima, Peru1st20 km1:24:31Pan American Junior ChampionshipsWinnipeg, Canada1st10,000 m39:50.731994South American Race Walking CupSucre, Bolivia1st20 km1:30:04 Pan American Race Walking CupAtlanta, Georgia, United States3rd20 km1:24:34Ibero-American ChampionshipsMar del Plata, Argentina5th20 km1:26:08.21995South American Race Walking CupCuenca, Ecuador1st20 km1:27:46 Pan American GamesMar del Plata, Argentina1st20 km1:22:53World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden33rd20 km1:34:201996South American Race Walking CupSão Paulo, Brazil1st20 km1:25:33Olympic GamesAtlanta, Georgia, United States1st20 km1:20:071997South American Race Walking CupBogotá, Colombia1st20 km1:26:19 World Race Walking CupPoděbrady, Czech Republic1st20 km1:18:24World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece14th20 km1:24:46Bolivarian GamesArequipa, Peru1st20 km1:27:54 1998South American Race Walking CupBogotá, Colombia1st20 km1:22:53 Pan American Race Walking CupMiami, Florida, United States —50 kmDNFGoodwill GamesUniondale, New York, United States3rd20,000 m1:29:18.4South American GamesCuenca, Ecuador1st20 km1:23:11 1999World Race Walking CupMézidon-Canon, France —50 kmDNFPan American GamesWinnipeg, Canada3rd20 km1:20:46World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain2nd20 km1:24:192000South American Race Walking CupLima, Peru1st20 km1:30:50Pan American Race Walking CupPoza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico 3rd20 km1:24.36Olympic GamesSydney, Australia4th20 km1:20:182001World ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada8th20 km1:22:20UniversiadeBeijing, China5th20 km1:26:11Bolivarian GamesAmbato, Ecuador1st20 km1:30:27 South American Race Walking CupCuenca, Ecuador1st20 km1:26:21 Pan American Race Walking Cup2ndSouth American Race Walking Cup1stTeam10 ptsPan American Race Walking Cup2nd21 pts2002World Race Walking CupTurin, Italy1st20 km1:21:264thTeam61 ptsSouth American Race Walking CupPuerto Saavedra, Chile —20 kmDNFIbero-American ChampionshipsCiudad de Guatemala, Guatemala1st20,000 m1:23:51 2003Pan American Race Walking CupChula Vista, California, United States 1st20 km1:23:122ndTeam13 ptsPan American GamesSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic1st20 km1:23:06World ChampionshipsParis Saint-Denis, France1st20 km1:17:212004World Race Walking CupNaumburg, Germany1st20 km1:18:422ndTeam35 ptsOlympic GamesAthens, Greece4th20 km1:20:3812th50 km3:53:042005South American ChampionshipsCali, Colombia1st20 km1:22:54 World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland1st20 km1:18:35Bolivarian GamesArmenia, Colombia2nd20 km1:24:22 hrs 2006South American Race Walking ChampionshipsCochabamba, Bolivia1st20 km1:26:27 2ndTeam12 ptsWorld Race Walking CupA Coruña, Spain2nd20 km1:19:087thTeam68 pts2007Pan American Race Walking CupBalneário Camboriú, Brazil 1st20 km1:25:08Pan American GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil1st20 km1:22.08World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan1st20 km1:22:202008Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsCali, Colombia1stGuest20,000 m1:20:54.9 Olympic GamesBeijing, China2nd20 km1:19:15

In popular culture He appeared on Japanese TV show Hey! Spring of Trivia multiple times - in one episode, he tested how long it actually took to walk to a train station from an apartment advertised as "5 minutes away" (for him, it took under 2 minutes); in another, the show tested whether he would walk or run away when threatened (he ran).

References

External links

Photos about his technique