ECUADOR ON THE WAY TO OSAKA. 
SALUZZO, 15/08/2007. EFFORT, COURAGE, DECISION……. AN INSPIRATION, A DREAM, A GOAL.
The Ecuadorian athletes, Jefferson Perez and Rolando Saquipay, prepare their best “weapons” for the 11th World Track and Field Championship in Osaka, Japan.
To achieve their purpose, the athletes are training in Saluzza, Italy since two weeks ago. In Saluzzo they are training arduously seven days a week with sessions of 20 to 30 kilometers a day, undergoing daily temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. From their arrival in this small Italian town of 20,000 inhabitants, the athletes were pleasantly surprised by the warm reception and great admiration by the employees and administrators of the Race Walking Foundation, their hosts in Saluzzo.
The Ecuadorian delegation includes Margo Chango, physician, and Manuel Ortiz, technical assistant, who provide support during the daily training sessions with logistics as well as with medical and athletic aspects.
The race walkers feel very much at home in this city due to the similarity that exists with their hometown of Cuenca, especially the architecture and culture of the natives. The fact that Saluzzo is a small city helps the race walkers to concentrate on their training and to focus on their dreams of the world championship.
Every day after finishing their demanding but satisfying workouts, they eat and rest at the Foundation’s facilities, where they receive the strictly necessary attention to carry out their activities.
Amidst laughter, fatigue, and sometimes tears brought on by the training load, they return to their lodgings to rest and recuperate for a new workout the following day. Marco Chango, their physician, carefully examines the athletes to avoid health problems, while Manuel Ortiz, their technical assistant, enters and processes the data of each workout, so it can then be analyzed to reach conclusions that will allow them to plan the next day’s workout. This is how the Ecuadorian team spends its days in Saluzzo, working to convert to reality the dreams of an entire country.
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