El Universo Newspaper Names Jefferson the Best of 2005 
ECUADOR, 06/02/2006. Jefferson's world title in the 20 kilometer race walk made him the winner of the trophy. Jefferson Perez does not stop making history, calmly, but with rhythm, as when he moves his hips and breaks the fortitude of his rivals on the asphalt. The race walker from Azuay is not content with the glory of having obtained all the titles and prizes he has set out to win in his life. He continues to win. Thanks to his exceptional skill at walking "as though flying" - with a flawless technique that borders on perfection - , Jeff reached a new milestone in his career by winning for the fourth consecutive time the prize as the Best Sportsman of the Year awarded annually by EL UNIVERSO Newspaper since 1964.
Furthermore, it is the seventh time he received this recognition (1992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005). This makes him the athlete who has won this award the most times in its history, surpassing legends of Ecuadorian sport such as Jorge Delgado Pachana and Andres Gomez Santos, who obtained it in six opportunities.
In the final analysis, Jefferson took the prize as the Best Sportsman of the Year thanks to his impeccable triumph last August 6th in the 20 kilometer walk competition at the World Championship of Track and Field over a road circuit laid out in Helsinki, capital of Finland.
That day, after one hour 18 minutes and 35 seconds of intense competition against Francisco Paquillo Fernández, the Spanish race walker, Jefferson Perez crossed the finish line in first place, 300 meters in front of his rival and with a one minute one second advantage, thus achieving his second world title of his brilliant career.
Despite not being able to break the record in his event (1h17m21s, set by him two years ago at the World Championship in Paris) which was his desire, this triumph by the race walker from Cuenca, was heard around the world and became one of the most important achieved by Latin American sportsmen in different world tournaments held during 2005.
Source and Photo: El Universo Newspaper.
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