# Jefferson Pérez

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 459 km (285 mi) pilgrimage, walking, jogging and running from Quito's Franciscan cathedral to his hometown of Cuenca.
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.

## 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 | 38:37.6 min (ht) | Bergen | 9 May 1998 |
| 20,000 m | 1:20:54.9 hrs (ht) | Cali | 5 July 2008 |

## International competitions

Representing  Ecuador :
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
| 1988 | South American Youth Championships | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 5 km | 24:44.4 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 |
| 1990 | World Junior Championships | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | 3rd | 10,000 m | 40:08.23 |
| 1990 | South American Race Walking Cup (U20) | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 1st | 10 km | 44:31.9 |
| 1990 | South American Youth Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 5 km | 19:49.54 |
| 1991 | World Indoor Championships | Sevilla, Spain | 10th | 5000 m | 20:20.05 |
| 1991 | South American Junior Championships | Asunción, Paraguay | 1st | 10,000 m | 43:10.1 |
| 1991 | South American Championships | Manaus, Brazil | – | 20 km | DQ |
| 1991 | Pan American Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 2nd | 10,000 m | 44:06.11 |
| 1991 | 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 |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | — | 20 km | DNF |
| 1992 | South American Junior Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 10,000 m | 45:31.2 |
| 1992 | World Junior Championships | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | 10,000 m | 40:42.66 |
| 1992 | 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 A |
| 1993 | South American Junior Championships | Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela | 1st | 10,000 m | 42:24.2 |
| 1993 | South American Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:24:31 |
| 1993 | 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 |
| 1994 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | 3rd | 20 km | 1:24:34 |
| 1994 | Ibero-American Championships | Mar del Plata, Argentina | 5th | 20 km | 1:26:08.2 |
| 1995 | South American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:27:46 A |
| 1995 | Pan American Games | Mar del Plata, Argentina | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:53 |
| 1995 | 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 |
| 1996 | 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 |
| 1997 | World Race Walking Cup | Poděbrady, Czech Republic | 1st | 20 km | 1:18:24 |
| 1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 14th | 20 km | 1:24:46 |
| 1997 | Bolivarian Games | Arequipa, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:27:54 A |
| 1998 | South American Race Walking Cup | Bogotá, Colombia | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:53 A |
| 1998 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Miami, Florida, United States | — | 50 km | DNF |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games | Uniondale, New York, United States | 3rd | 20,000 m | 1:29:18.4 |
| 1998 | South American Games | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:23:11 A |
| 1999 | World Race Walking Cup | Mézidon-Canon, France | — | 50 km | DNF |
| 1999 | Pan American Games | Winnipeg, Canada | 3rd | 20 km | 1:20:46 |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 2nd | 20 km | 1:24:19 |
| 2000 | South American Race Walking Cup | Lima, Peru | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:50 |
| 2000 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico | 3rd | 20 km | 1:24.36 |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 4th | 20 km | 1:20:18 |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 8th | 20 km | 1:22:20 |
| 2001 | Universiade | Beijing, China | 5th | 20 km | 1:26:11 |
| 2001 | Bolivarian Games | Ambato, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:30:27 A |
| 2001 | South American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | 20 km | 1:26:21 A |
| 2001 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 2nd | 20 km | 1:26:21 A |
| 2001 | South American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 1st | Team | 10 pts |
| 2001 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Cuenca, Ecuador | 2nd | Team | 21 pts |
| 2002 | World Race Walking Cup | Turin, Italy | 1st | 20 km | 1:21:26 |
| 2002 | World Race Walking Cup | Turin, Italy | 4th | Team | 61 pts |
| 2002 | South American Race Walking Cup | Puerto Saavedra, Chile | — | 20 km | DNF |
| 2002 | 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 |
| 2003 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Chula Vista, California, United States | 2nd | Team | 13 pts |
| 2003 | Pan American Games | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 1st | 20 km | 1:23:06 |
| 2003 | 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 |
| 2004 | World Race Walking Cup | Naumburg, Germany | 2nd | Team | 35 pts |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 4th | 20 km | 1:20:38 |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 12th | 50 km | 3:53:04 |
| 2005 | South American Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:54 A |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 20 km | 1:18:35 |
| 2005 | 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 |
| 2006 | South American Race Walking Championships | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 2nd | Team | 12 pts |
| 2006 | World Race Walking Cup | A Coruña, Spain | 2nd | 20 km | 1:19:08 |
| 2006 | World Race Walking Cup | A Coruña, Spain | 7th | Team | 68 pts |
| 2007 | Pan American Race Walking Cup | Balneário Camboriú, Brazil | 1st | 20 km | 1:25:08 |
| 2007 | Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 20 km | 1:22.08 |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 1st | 20 km | 1:22:20 |
| 2008 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | 20,000 m | 1:20:54.9 A |
| 2008 | 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).