How I did it | María Pérez, two-time world champion in athletic

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He arrives with crutches – “ nah , a setback in the hamstring” – and a fixed idea: “luckily I have my qualification for the Games and I can dedicate myself to recovering as best as possible.” Those Games (the tattoo of the five rings on his right forearm already reminds us) are the Paris Olympics. In Tokyo she came fourth. She will go to Paris 2024 with expectations: after all, she is the number one in the world in her specialty, race walking . It is from Orce, a Granada town of a thousand inhabitants, with a Neolithic past that brings together archaeologists from around the world, and some interesting roads to train on. “There people get up early to work in the fields,” he says. “I meet everyone on the roads and they stop and encourage me. “I am who I am also thanks to those people,” he assures Forbes . Strong and petite, María Pérez (Granada, 27 years old), whom Forbes Women included in the list of "The 100 most influential women in Spain in 2023" , has the determination of someone who has made her job—running following two basic rules. : 1) always have one foot in contact with the ground and 2) knees, never flexed to the naked eye— the feat of crossing the finish line before anyone else.

You arrive at this discipline by chance; When I was little it was difficult to get hooked on walking because it was easier to watch speed, middle distance, marathon, hurdles... At home on Sundays you would watch Fernando Alonso or football or Rafa Nadal, not much else." Medalist María Pérez photographed for Forbes at the Bless hotel in Madrid. (c) Jaime Partearroyo His thing, he says, was a coincidence of life, based on a school talk by fellow Granada Olympic athlete Paquillo Fernández . She left her home and, benefiting from a grant of 7,500 euros that helped her train for ten years, she dedicated her life to Industry Email List training, studying and little else. “I lived through a difficult period, but it also made me mature, having to do housework and learn what life is like outside of a high-performance center.” At the age of 15 he qualified for his first international, and from then on he has not lowered the bar. “I was left out of the Rio Games for a few seconds. Then I went to Tokyo and lived the dream of any athlete.” Dreams that materialized in the medal at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin: “I aspired to be among the top eight; It will always be a special memory.



Or the two golds—in m, won in less than a week—at the 2023 World Cup in Budapest: I know that both Álvaro Martín [also champion] and I have done something very nice, and even more so at that moment, in full Rubiales case . That hug is unique and unforgettable,” he remembers. And where are the medals? "In a drawer. They will be exhibited in the Granada City Hall for all the people who want to see them.” And the records? “Look, I am the only Spanish person with a world record [35 km]; That's something special... but I can't wait for it to be taken away. If someone does it it is because my discipline is advancing. Records are there to be broken.” Pérez has everything ahead of him, but he does not lose sight of the fact that one day post-sports life will come: “ I was recently María Pérez, two-time world champion, and now I am nobody. If I have to do something, it is to be a good example for society and especially for the little ones. I studied a Higher degree in Early Childhood Education and physiotherapy. I would like to specialize in children with problems or with cancer .” For now, the Olympic Games and the exhaustive preparation that the occasion deserves await him: “If before you gave 100%, now you give.