Jefferson Pérez
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Full name | Jefferson Leonardo Pérez Quezada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Jeffi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador | 1 July 1974|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | University of Azuay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Ecuador | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Racewalking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 21 September 2008 (age 34) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Olympic finals | 1996 Summer Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics 2004 Summer Olympics 2008 Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jefferson Leonardo Pérez Quezada (born 1 July 1974) is an Ecuadorian retired race walker. He specialized in the 20 km event, in which he won the first two medals his country achieved in the Olympic Games.[1]
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 (285 mi) pilgrimage, walking, jogging and running from Quito's Franciscan cathedral to his hometown of Cuenca.[2] In the 2008 Olympics he won silver in the same event. He announced his retirement from the sport at 2008.[3]
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.
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. Graduated in Business Engineering from University of Azuay in Ecuador. Obtained MBA (Master in Business Administration) from 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 5K 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. 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.
He also won the silver at the World Championships of Seville in 1999, and unprecedented golds at Paris in 2003, Helsinki in 2005, and Osaka in 2007 for his third straight world title, the only person that has been able to achieve that. In France he broke the world record and he received a financial bonus.
Perez 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.[4]
Personal bests[]
Event | Result | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Road walk | |||
10 km | 38:24 min | Kraków | 8 June 2002 |
20 km | 1:17:21 hrs | Paris Saint-Denis | 23 August 2003 |
50 km | 3:53:04 hrs | Athens | 27 August 2004 |
Track walk | |||
10,000 m | 39:50.73 min | Winnipeg | 15 July 1993 |
20,000 m | 1:20:54.9 hrs (ht) | Cali | 5 July 2008 |
International competitions[]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Ecuador | |||||
1988 | South American Youth Championships | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 5 km | 24:44.4 min A |
1989 | South American Junior Championships | Montevideo, Uruguay | 1st | 10,000 m | 45:03.71 |
1990 | South American Junior Championships | Bogotá, Colombia | 1st | 10,000 m | 42:57.95 A |
World Junior Championships | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | 3rd | 10,000 m | 40:08.23 | |
South American Race Walking Cup (U20) | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 1st | 10 km | 44:31.9 | |
South American Youth Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 5 km | 19:49.54 min | |
1991 | World Indoor Championships | Sevilla, Spain | 10th | 5000 m | 20:20.05 |
South American Junior Championships | Asunción, Paraguay | 1st | 10,000 m | 43:10.1 | |
Pan American Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 2nd | 10,000 m | 44:06.11 | |
South American Race Walking Cup (U20) | Bogotá, Colombia | 1st | 10 km | 42:48.6 A | |
1992 | Ibero-American Championships | Seville, Spain | 3rd | 20 km | 1:25:50.5 hrs |
Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | — | 20 km | DNF | |
South American Junior Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 10,000 m | 45:31.2 | |
World Junior Championships | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | 10,000 m | 40:42.66 | |
South American Race Walking Cup (U20) | São Paulo, Brazil | 1st | 10 km | 45:39 | |
1993 | Bolivarian Games | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 1st | 20 km | 1:26:19 hrs A |
South American Junior Championships | Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela | 1st | 10,000 m | 42:24.2 | |
South American Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:24:31 | |
Pan American Junior Championships | Winnipeg, Canada | 1st | 10,000 m | 39:50.73 | |
1994 | South American Race Walking Cup | Sucre, Bolivia | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:04 A |
Pan American Race Walking Cup | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | 3rd | 20 km | 1:24:34 | |
Ibero-American Championships | Mar del Plata, Argentina | 5th | 20 km | 1:26:08.2 hrs | |
1995 | South American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:27:46 A |
Pan American Games | Mar del Plata, Argentina | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:53 | |
World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 33rd | 20 km | 1:34:20 | |
1996 | South American Race Walking Cup | São Paulo, Brazil | 1st | 20 km | 1:25:33 |
Olympic Games | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | 1st | 20 km | 1:20:07 | |
1997 | South American Race Walking Cup | Bogotá, Colombia | 1st | 20 km | 1:26:19 A |
World Race Walking Cup | Poděbrady, Czech Republic | 1st | 20 km | 1:18:24 | |
World Championships | Athens, Greece | 14th | 20 km | 1:24:46 | |
Bolivarian Games | Arequipa, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:27:54 hrs A | |
1998 | South American Race Walking Cup | Bogotá, Colombia | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:53 A |
Pan American Race Walking Cup | Miami, Florida, United States | — | 50 km | DNF | |
Goodwill Games | Uniondale, New York, United States | 3rd | 20,000 m | 1:29:18.4 | |
South American Games | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:23:11 A | |
1999 | World Race Walking Cup | Mézidon-Canon, France | — | 50 km | DNF |
Pan American Games | Winnipeg, Canada | 3rd | 20 km | 1:20:46 | |
World Championships | Seville, Spain | 2nd | 20 km | 1:24:19 | |
2000 | South American Race Walking Cup | Lima, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:50 |
Pan American Race Walking Cup | Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico | 3rd | 20 km | 1:24.36 | |
Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 4th | 20 km | 1:20:18 | |
2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 8th | 20 km | 1:22:20 |
Universiade | Beijing, China | 5th | 20 km | 1:26:11 | |
Bolivarian Games | Ambato, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:27 hrs A | |
South American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:26:21 A | |
Pan American Race Walking Cup | 2nd | ||||
South American Race Walking Cup | 1st | Team | 10 pts | ||
Pan American Race Walking Cup | 2nd | 21 pts | |||
2002 | World Race Walking Cup | Turin, Italy | 1st | 20 km | 1:21:26 |
4th | Team | 61 pts | |||
South American Race Walking Cup | Puerto Saavedra, Chile | — | 20 km | DNF | |
Ibero-American Championships | Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala | 1st | 20,000 m | 1:23:51 A | |
2003 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Chula Vista, California, United States | 1st | 20 km | 1:23:12 |
2nd | Team | 13 pts | |||
Pan American Games | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 1st | 20 km | 1:23:06 | |
World Championships | Paris Saint-Denis, France | 1st | 20 km | 1:17:21 | |
2004 | World Race Walking Cup | Naumburg, Germany | 1st | 20 km | 1:18:42 |
2nd | Team | 35 pts | |||
Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 4th | 20 km | 1:20:38 | |
12th | 50 km | 3:53:04 | |||
2005 | South American Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:54 A |
World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 20 km | 1:18:35 | |
Bolivarian Games | Armenia, Colombia | 2nd | 20 km | 1:24:22 hrs A | |
2006 | South American Race Walking Championships | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 1st | 20 km | 1:26:27 A |
2nd | Team | 12 pts | |||
World Race Walking Cup | A Coruña, Spain | 2nd | 20 km | 1:19:08 | |
7th | Team | 68 pts | |||
2007 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Balneário Camboriú, Brazil | 1st | 20 km | 1:25:08 |
Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 20 km | 1:22.08 | |
World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:20 | |
2008 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st[5] | 20,000 m | 1:20:54.9 A |
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 2nd | 20 km | 1:19:15 |
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[]
- ^ "Jefferson Perez – Reaching for Olympic Gold". Ecuador.com. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "True Olympians"
- ^ "Ecuadorian walker Jefferson Perez trains alone for Beijing-2008", Xinhua, 23 April 2008.
- ^ "Fernandez and Feitor take Murcia wins; Overall titles for Tallent & Plätzer – Race Walking Challenge Final". IAAF. 21 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
- ^ Guest
External links[]
- Official website
- Jefferson Pérez at World Athletics
- Jefferson Pérez at the International Olympic Committee
- Jefferson Pérez at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Photos about his technique
- Biscayart, Eduardo (29 September 2008). "Jefferson Pérez, a true Champion, retires". IAAF. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- 1974 births
- Living people
- People from Cuenca, Ecuador
- Ecuadorian male racewalkers
- Olympic athletes of Ecuador
- Olympic gold medalists for Ecuador
- Olympic silver medalists for Ecuador
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games gold medalists for Ecuador
- Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Ecuador
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- World record setters in athletics (track and field)
- South American Games gold medalists for Ecuador
- South American Games medalists in athletics
- Competitors at the 1998 South American Games
- World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships winners
- World Athletics Championships winners
- Competitors at the 2001 Summer Universiade
- Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games
- Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games