Jefferson arrived at Beijing charged with mental strength, inner peace and the great dream of savoring Olympic glory 
China, 14/08/2008. Tuesday Jefferson Perez Quezada, the 1996 Olympic champion, arrived in Beijing from Saluzzo, Italy. Upon his arrival in Asia, a tired (due to the long trip) but satisfied Jefferson, expressed his desire to continue focusing on this challenge. “Rolando and I have experienced a great training camp; we are filled with hopes and excitement, but also with the enormous responsibility that representing almost 15 million Ecuadorians implies. I’ve said that in these Olympic Games an all-out effort is only one tool for reaching our goal. Much more important will be the ability to channel all of the external factors (heat, humidity, pollution, etc.) in our favor in order to produce much more than just a maximum effort.”
Jefferson held a 45-day training camp in the Italian city of Saluzzo. Accompanied by his multidisciplinary team and his teammate, Rolando Saquipay, he underwent arduous sessions of daily workouts, muscle recuperation and constant relaxation therapy, all for the purpose of attaining a maximum focus for the 20km competition in Beijing.
The team physician, Marco Chango, confirmed that the athletes are in great shape and that he is certain that the training done in Italy will be a great aid the day of the competition. “We have accumulated hundreds of hours of training,” said Chango, “And we have covered hundreds of kilometers with the same dream, which we hope to achieve in Beijing,”
Perez comes to this competition with the experience of having prepared for five Olympic Games, in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. In addition, his enormous mental attitude and great fortitude will be other factors that will help to some degree to overcome the extreme conditions that will be encountered the day of the competition.
Source: JPSM
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