Rolando Saquipay wins the 20,000 meter walk at the Ibero-American Championship in Puerto Rico 
PUERTO RICO, 03/06/2006. PONCE. Rolando Saquipay took the gold medal for Ecuador in the 20,000 meter walk on the track in the absence of his countryman, Jefferson Perez, world champion at Helsinki in 2005 with a time of 1:17:21 for 20 kilometers.
Perez had been invited to participate in the 12th Ibero-American Track and Field Championship, Ponce 2006, but due to an injury suffered in the World Cup at Coruña he is undergoing eight weeks of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, Ecuador was well-represented by Rolando Saquipay, who covered the distance in 1:28:48.36 to win the gold medal.
Jose I. Diaz of Spain took silver with a time of 1:30:43.27 followed by Sergio Vieira of Brazil in a time of 1:32:50.12 for the bronze medal.
The competition started at 6 o’clock the morning of Sunday the 28th of May with high temperatures due to the tropical climate of the island. The first three places were disputed by the Spaniard, Diaz, the Brasilian, Vieira, and, of course, Saquipay. The best placing by a local athlete was sixth in 1:40:03.78 by Ezequiel Nazario.
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