Gabriela Kimberly García León (born 19 October 1993) is a female

racewalker 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. Race judges carefully asses ...

from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. She won gold medals in the 20 kilometres walk and 35 km walk at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

, becoming the first ever Peruvian world medallist and the first

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n to earn two titles at the same

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

. García is the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder for the longer event. She represented Peru in the women's 20 kilometres walk at the 2016 Rio and

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. She also holds three Peruvian national records ( 10,000 m walk, 10 km walk and 20 km walk).

Early life

Kimberly García comes from the Inca nation and was born in

Huancayo Huancayo (; in qu, label=Wanka Quechua, Wankayuq , '(place) with a (sacred) rock') is the capital of Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru. Location Huancayo is located in Huancayo Province, of which it is also the capital. Sit ...

in central Peru. Her family has always been linked to

race walking 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. Race judges carefully asse ...

, so she started training when she was 5 years old, following in the footsteps of her cousin.

Career

As a 12-year-old García won the 5 kilometres race walk at the Peruvian Race Walking Under-18 Championships and Peruvian U18 Championships. Three years later, in 2009, she took victory in the 10 km walk U20 event of the Peruvian Race Walking Championships. She was seventh at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games held in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(

5000 m walk The 5000 metres race walk is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a track race and was part of the athletics programme for men at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics until 1993. It is also an event in the World Masters Athle ...

). At 19, she claimed the gold medal in the 20 km walk at the

2013 Pan American Race Walking Cup The 2013 Pan American Race Walking Cup was held in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala. The track of the Cup runs in the Avenida Simeón Cañas, Zona 2. A detailed report was given by Fernando Ruiz Del Valle. Complete results were published. Med ...

. García won also the event at the 2014 South American Race Walking Championships. In May that year, she set her first South American record (20 km) in

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

, China. García placed 14th in the event at the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

. After the Games, she considered retiring from professional athletics due to the lack of support from private companies. In 2017, she achieved the highest position of Peruvian athlete in a

, finishing seventh in the 20 km walk at the

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in London. In 2019, García won the silver medal in the event at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

staged in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

. In December that year, she was named Athlete of the Year by the Peruvian Athletics Sport Federation. She qualified for the event but failed to finish the 20 km walk at the postponed

2022: Double world champion in Oregon

In March, the 28-year-old finished third in the 20 km walk at the World Race Walking Team Championships held in

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

, Oman. In April, she broke the South American record in the 35 km walk with a time of 2:43:19 for second at the Dudinská Päťdesiatka meeting in

Dudince Dudince (before 1927 ''Ďudince'', hu, Gyűgy, rarely german: Dudintze) is a spa town in southern Slovakia. It is the smallest town in Slovakia with only a population of around 1,400. It is known for its mineral water, hot springs and destination ...

, Slovakia. At the

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

in July, García first won 20 km walk in a national record, becoming the first ever medallist from Peru in championships history and ending longer than 10 years Chinese dominance in the event. Seven days later, she added second title for the 35 km walk, improving her own South American record and becoming the first woman to earn two racewalking titles at one global championships. García also became the first

n to win two gold medals at the same World Athletics Championships. In November, she was shortlisted for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year award.

2023–present: 35 km walk world record

Kimberly got her 2023 campaign off to a strong start on 25 March, setting a 35 km walk world record with a time of 2:37:44 at the Dudinska 50. She sliced two seconds off the previous fastest mark for the distance. It was the first world record in the event after it became a standard championship discipline in 2022 and 2:38:00 was set as the standard.

Achievements

Personal bests

* 10,000 metres race walk – 42:56.97 ( Trujillo] 2018) *

10 kilometres race walk The 10 kilometres race walk, or 10-kilometer racewalk, is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it ...

– 43:23 (

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

] 2017) *

20 kilometres race walk The 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic Games, Olympic athletics (sport), athletics event that is competed by both men and women. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supp ...

– 1:26:58 (

Eugene, OR Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

2022) *

35 kilometres race walk The 35 kilometres race walk is a road racewalking event which became a standard championship discipline in 2022, with initial world records to be recognised after 1 January 2023. All-time top 25 Men *Correct as of July 2022. Notes Below is a l ...

– 2:37:44 (

2023)

World record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Kimberly 1993 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Peruvian female racewalkers Peruvian female athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for Peru Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Peru Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 South American Games South American Games gold medalists for Peru South American Games medalists in athletics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for Peru Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games South American Games gold medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Peruvian women