María Guadalupe González Romero (born 9 January 1989), better known as Lupita González, is a Mexican

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 ...

. She was the gold medalist at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

and is the national record holder in the

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 ...

Career

Raised in the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, she first emerged as an elite level walker in the 2013 season. The

2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

saw her claim the 10,000 metres race walk gold medal for the host nation. She soon established herself as the nation's best walker, with a new Mexican national record of 1:28:48 at the

2014 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 2014 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Taicang, China, on 3–4 May 2014. The course was a 2 km loop along Shanghai Road between Banjing Road and Loujiang Road in the centre of the city. It has already been used for the annual IAAF ...

, where she placed 16th overall in the

event. She also broke the 15 km walk record en route to that distance. On her debut appearance at the

2015 Pan American Race Walking Cup The 2015 Pan American Race Walking Cup took place on May 9–10, 2015. The races were held on a 2 km circuit on Avenida Raúl Pey, Playa Chinchorro, in Arica, Chile. A detailed report of the event was given for the IAAF. Complete results ...

she was a clear winner in the 20 km walk, crossing the line in a championship record time of 1:29:21 hours – nearly two minutes ahead of runner-up

Kimberly García Gabriela Kimberly García León (born 19 October 1993) is a female racewalker from Peru. She won gold medals in the 20 kilometres walk and 35 km walk at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first ever Peruvian world medal ...

. González's performance led Mexico to the women's team title, alongside her compatriots Alejandra Ortega and Lizbeth Silva. She was among the leading entrants 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 ...

two months later and came away with the gold medal, restoring Mexico's initial success in the event which had ended after Victoria Palacios's win in 2003. Hot and humid weather conditions during the race in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

affected González, who despite having a winning margin of over half a minute and breaking the games record collapsed after finishing the distance. María Guadalupe then won the Race Walking World Cup in Rome and was regarded as one of the favorites to win the Olympic Games, and won silver, becoming the first female Mexican race walker to step on the Olympic podium. That same year she also went on to win the 2016

IAAF Race Walking Challenge The World Athletics Challenge - Race Walking (formerly ''IAAF Race Walking Challenge'') is a racewalking series organised by World Athletics. Athletes accumulate points in specific race walk meetings during the season. Performances in 10 kilomet ...

series. She is banned until 15 November 2026 for an anti-doping rule violation and tampering with the anti-doping process. She was initially banned for testing positive for

trenbolone Trenbolone is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) of the nandrolone group which itself was never marketed. Trenbolone ester prodrugs, including trenbolone acetate (brand names Finajet, Finaplix, others) and trenbolone hexahydrobenzylcarbonate ...

. She was then banned for four years for using forged documents and false testimonies in an attempt to overturn her ban.

Personal bests

* 10,000 metres race walk – 47:48.30 (2013) *

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 ...

– 43:49 (2015) * 15 kilometres race walk – 1:06:55 (2014) *

– 1:28:37 (2016)

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Lupita Living people 1989 births People from Tlalnepantla de Baz Sportspeople from the State of Mexico Mexican female racewalkers Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Olympic athletes for Mexico Olympic silver medalists for Mexico Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Mexico World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships winners Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Doping cases in athletics Mexican sportspeople in doping cases 21st-century Mexican women