Emerson Esnal Hernández (born January 29, 1989 in

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

) is a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

race walker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...

. He began racing after a team of sports recruiters selected his best friend to try out, Hernández accompanied his friend, and one of the coaches at the try out noticed him. He represented El Salvador in the 50 km racewalk at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Biography

Emerson Esnal Hernández was born in

on January 29, 1989, one of seven children of Juana Dolores Hernández. Hernández became involved with the sport of race walking when a group from the National Sports Institute of El Salvador visited his school looking for recruits. The team recruited Hernández's best friend Rafael Avalos, and Hernández accompanied him because Rafael was shy. They were taken to a stadium, where Hernández was noticed by a coach and entered training in athletics. At age 13 Hernández began to train with coach Rafael Cerna, and only five months after beginning training Hernández won first place in a cross country race. By 2003 he had qualified for the World Junior Championships and in 2005 won a gold medal in the El Salvador National Championships. In the 2007 Pan American Race Walking Cup, he took 4th place in the Junior Men's 10 km Racewalk. During the early years of his athletic career, he continued his academic studies and in 2008 he graduated with a B.A. in psychology from the Instituto Nacional Alberto Masferrer de la Zacamil. At the 2008 World Youth Athletics Championship, Hernández and his coach were involved in a controversy when the runners in Hernández' race were provided with carbonated water rather than uncarbonated water. Hernández and his coach claimed that this led to nausea, stomach cramps, and dizziness, and led to his withdrawal from the race. He qualified for the 2010 Central American Games in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, but withdrew due to injury, and in the same year finished 24th in the 50 km racewalk at the World Cup in Chihuahua,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. As of 2012, he was ranked 54th in the world in the 50 km runwalk. During the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, he finished in 6th place, eight minutes behind the 5th-place finisher. Hernández qualified to represent El Salvador in the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the 50 km racewalk, and traveled to Italy prior to the games for training. There, he has been coached by experienced Italian racewalking coach Sandro Damilano, who has trained a number of Chinese and Italian athletes for the Olympics. As of 2012, he was ranked 50th in the world in the 50 km event, and was the highest ranking Salvadoran racewalker. At the 2012 Olympics, he finished in 26th place with a new personal best time of 3:53:57.

Personal bests

Track walk

*10,000 m: 42:17.56 min –

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 26 April 2014

Road walk

*10 km: 43:10 min –

, 3 February 2007 *20 km: 1:26:34 hrs –

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost s ...

, 1 May 2013 *50 km: 3:53:57 hrs –

, 11 August 2012

Achievements

References

External links

* *
Tilastopaja biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Emerson Esnal 1989 births Salvadoran male racewalkers Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of El Salvador Pan American Games competitors for El Salvador Living people World Athletics Championships athletes for El Salvador