Pérez and Saquipay receive their well-deserved medals, Ecuador’s flag is raised and national anthem played. 
BRAZIL, 24/07/2007. In an emotion-filled act, the Ecuadorian race walkers, Jefferson Perez and Rolando Saquipay, were proclaimed Champion and Vice Champion of the 20 Km Walk, the gold and silver medals, respectively, shining on the athletes’ chests.
Ecuadorian flags waved at the top of the flagpoles, and minutes later our countrymen proudly sang the national anthem of Ecuador, played by the organizers in honor of the winners.
The first of three stages leading toward the world goal began at these Pan American Games, with Perez and Saquipay together on the winner’s stand. The second stage our athletes must carry out is the 25-day training camp in Saluzzo, Italy, where not only will they strengthen the physical part, but the psychological part as well in order for the athletes to achieve total concentration. The third and final stage will take place in Osaka, Japan, where they hope to become part of the history of universal sport with the best performance in the 20 km event of the World Track and Field Championship, in which they will give their all.
Photo AFP
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