The Champion bids good-bye to his country and leaves for Greece in search of excellence. 
GREECE, 17/08/2004. Jefferson Pérez left this Friday bound for Greece to take part in the Olympic Games of Athens. There he will join the Ecuadorian athletes who are already in Greece and who participated in the opening parade.
Traveling with Jeff were Rolando Saquipay (athlete), Marco Chango (physician) and Luis Chocho (Saquipay's coach). All are very optimistic about the true possibilities of the entire Ecuadorian delegation, especially their own. "The workouts have been very good," commented Jefferson, "It was really something magical, impressive, a kind of harmony, in which my physical condition and my spirit reaped the benefits of what I was doing, and my spirit soared, I mean to say, that in spite of the pain in my muscles and the agitation of my heart, I could enjoy it, without thinking about the extreme condition I was in; it was really marvelous, as though God had taken control of my body." That was how the champion narrated the experience at the press conference he held in his city, accompanied by his friends and relatives, days before his trip toward the dream he hopes to convert to reality, Athens 2004.
Regarding the pressure of being the favorite, with the greatest modesty Jeff said, "I'm not bothered in any way, because if there is someone in the 20 km Walk who has been able to win all the medals and titles that exist, that someone is me. So whatever happens in Athens will be just a gift of God for Ecuador, for the effort expended during hundreds of very difficult weeks of my workouts; those who do have problems with this, on the contrary, are the athletes who haven't as yet achieved anything at the world level and at the same time are under pressure by their countries to win medals, due to the very large sums invested in their preparation. All I wish to express is 'Thank-you, God, Thank-you Ecuador,' for allowing me to do what I like most -- represent my nation," concluded the champion.
Jeff will take part in the 20 km and 50 km walks, the 20th and 27th of August, respectively. After that he will return to his country to be with his family.
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