Pérez Jefferson

Personal information

Date of birth   01-07-1974 Birthplace   Cuenca Nationality   Ecuador

Jefferson Pérez: Olympic champion in the 20 km Race walk at Atlanta 1996
&
Former world record holder of the 20 km Race walk with an astonishing time of 1 h 17' 21"  at an average speed of 15,514 km/h

The Pilgrimage of the Victory

On July26, 1996 in Atlanta, three athletes competed for victory in the 20 km Race walk final. The youngest of them, Jefferson Pérez, broke away to enter the Olympic Stadium alone under the ovation of the 85.000 spectators. He finished ahead of Russia's Ilya Markov and Mexico's Bernardo Segura to become the youngest Olympic champion in the 20 km Race walk at the age of 22 and the first gold medalist in Ecuador's history. 

Before his departure to the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Jefferson Pérez visits the cathedral in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, where he, kneeling before a statue of Christ, makes the following promise: << If God wills it and I become Olympic Champion, then, upon my return of Atlanta, I will walk the route from this cathedral to my hometown to thank the Lord >>.  
After his victory in Atlanta, to honour the promise that he had made before the Games in the cathedral, Pérez embarked on a 460 km pilgrimage from the cathedral in the capital Quito to his hometown of Cuenca, heading through the mountains at altitudes between 2.500 m and 4.800 m. Cheered by a huge crowd throughout his journey massed on the side of the roads, he entered therefore a little more into the collective memory.

Cuenca, land of walking

The small town of Cuenca has its own walking school, the brainchild of local coach Luis Chocho. Training takes place in the city park, known as the <<Chocodrome >>. It was there that Jefferson Pérez, took his first steps as a walker. Here, he began to shape his body and to develop the fighting spirit of a warrior, but without harming anyone else.   

Victories and titles

Jefferson Perez gained international fame by winning the bronze medal in the 10 km walk at the 1990 World Junior Athletics Championships in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) before winning the title of world champion in the same competition two years later in Seoul 1992.
Four years later in 1996, he triumphed at the Olympic games where he became the new Olympic champion in the 20 km walk.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he placed 4th and at the 2004 Athens Games, he also finished 4th.
Fighting again to the end for the victory at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing but struck down by the heat at the end of the race, he was 14 seconds behind the Russian Valery Borchin, winning a 2nd Olympic medal in his favourite distance.

The race walker from Cuenca became the first athlete in history to win the 20 km walk at three successive World Athletics Championships: Paris 2003, where he set a new world record of 1 h 17' 21", Helsinki 2005 and Osaka 2007.   

Last competition

Awarded with international honours, adulated in his country where he remains the only Olympic medalist in athletics, Jefferson Pérez competed his last competition at the World Race Walking Cup in Murcia (Spain) on 21 September 2008 where he ranked 3rd.  
During his farewell, he said the following words: "My heart tells me to keep going but I feel that my body will not be able to handle the hard training for 4 years anymore".
The modest sportsman of Cuenca has become an icon status in his country who, after retiring from athletics, focused his energies on setting up his own foundation dedicated to providing opportunities for disadvantaged young Ecuadorians.

Video Atlanta

You can watch the final of the 20 km walk at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta via the following link: https://www.belgianwalkingassociation.com/en/reports-race-walking/?country_id=13

International honors

Olympic Games

Olympic gold medalist 20 km Race walk in Atlanta (USA)

Podium Race walk 20 km Atlanta 1996

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)      1 h 20' 07"
2. Ilya Markov (RUS)            1 h 20' 16"
3. Bernardo Segura (MEX)   1 h 20' 23"

Olympic silver medalist 20 km Race walk in Beijing (CHN)

Podium Race walk 20 km Beijing 2008

1. Valery Borchin (RUS)    1 h 19' 01"
2. Jefferson Pérez (EC)   1 h 19' 15"
3. Jared Tallent (AUS)       1 h 19' 42"

World Championships 

3 x gold medalist at the men's 20 km Race walk         

Podium Race walk 20 km Paris 2003 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)                  1 h 17' 21"  ► ex-WR
2. Francisco Javier Fernández (E)   1 h 18' 00" 
3. Roman Rasskazov (RUS)            1 h 18' 07"   

Podium Race walk 20 km Helsinki 2005 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)                  1 h 18' 35"   
2. Francisco Javier Fernández (E)   1 h 19' 36" 
3. Juan Molina (E)                            1 h 19' 44"   

Podium Race walk 20 km Osaka 2007 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)                    1 h 22' 20"   
2. Francisco Javier Fernández (E)     1 h 22' 40" 
3. Hatem Ghoula (TN)                        1 h 22' 40"   

1 x silver medalist at the men's 20 km Race walk         

Podium Race walk 20 km Seville 1999 

1. Ilya Markov (RUS)         1 h 23' 34"
2. Jefferson Pérez (EC)   1 h 24' 19" 
3. Daniel Garcia (MEX)     1 h 24' 31"   

IAAF World Race Walking Cup

2 x bronze medalist on the World Race walking Cup

Podium Race walk 20 km Naumburg 2004 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)         1 h 18'' 42"
2. Robert Korzeniowski (PL)   1 h 19' 02"
3. Nathan Deakes (AUS)        1 h 19' 11" 

Podium Race walk 20 km Murcia 2008 

1. Francisco Javier Fernández (E)   1 h 23' 14"
2. Jared Tallent (AUS)                      1 h 24' 02"
3. Jefferson Pérez (EC)                  1 h 24' 35"  ► my last competition

Pan American Games

Bronze medalist on the Pan American Games in Winnipeg (CDN)

Podium Race walk 20 km Winnipeg 1999 

1. Bernardo Segura (MEX)   1 h 20' 17"
2. Daniel Garcia (MEX)         1 h 20' 28"
3. Jefferson Pérez (EC)       1 h 20' 46" 

3 x gold medalist at the men's 20 km Race walk

Podium Race walk 20 km Mar del Plata (RA) 1995 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)   1 h 22' 53"   
2. Daniel Garcia (MEX)     1 h 22' 56" 
3. Julio Martinez (GCA)     1 h 23' 50" 

Podium Race walk 20 km Santo Domingo (DOM) 2003 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)      1 h 23' 06"
2. Bernardo Segura (MEX)   1 h 23' 31" 
3. Alejandro Lopez (MEX)    1 h 24' 33" 

Podium Race walk 20 km Rio de Janeiro (BR) 2007 

1. Jefferson Pérez (EC)      1 h 22' 08"
2. Rolando Saquipay (EC)   1 h 23' 28" 
3. Gustavo Restrepo (CO)   1 h 24' 51"  

Medal record 

Olympic Games                        1 x gold /1 x silver   
World Championships              3 x gold / 1 x silver
World Race Walking Cup         2 x bronze
Pan American Games              3 x gold / 1 x bronze
World Junior Championships   1 x gold / 1 x bronze  

   total number of medals        14 

Merits

Holder of dual titles in Race walk 20 km

Holder of the dual titles of IAAF World champion & World record holder in the 20 km Race walk men in 2003.

Barriers Race walking 

barrier_1: Race walk 20 km/ 1 h 20'

7 performances under 1 h 20' over 20 km ► best performance  1 h 17' 21"  (= ex-WR)

barrier_2: Race walk 50 km/ 4 h  

1 performance under 4 hour over 50 km ► 3 h 53' 04"   12,872 km/h

Best memories

My top three unforgettable memories in my career are in descending order:

♦ My victory in the 20 km at the Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA) 1996, awarded with the prestigious title of << Olympic champion >>. This title has contributed to a status of national hero and the acquisition of eternal fame in my country;

♦ Achieving a double victory at the World Championships in Paris (France) 2003: winning my first title of world champion in the 20 km Race walk, crowned with a new world record: 1 h 17' 21";

♦ My silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the men's 20 km Race walk, achieved after a hard struggle in the exhausting heat for gold with the Russian Borchin in the final. 

Personal bests

♦ 5000 m Race walk   18' 46"   2007   Xalapa (MEX)

♦ 10 km Race walk            38' 24"   15,625 km/h   2002   Kraków (PL)
♦ 10 km Race walk track   38' 37"   15,537 km/h   1998   Bergen (N)   

♦ 20 km Race walk road   1 h 17' 21"   15,514 km/h   2003   Paris (F) ► former world record 20 km Race walk      
♦ 20 km Race walk track   1 h 20' 54"   14,833 km/h   2008   Cali (CO)

♦ 50 km Race walk road   3 h 53' 04"   12,872 km/h   2004   Athens (GR)  

Palmares

Images

• Belgian Walking Association vzw
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