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

racewalker Race walking, or racewalking, 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 silver medalist in the 20km walk at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She was also the gold medalist at the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

and is the Mexican national record holder in the

20 kilometres race walk The 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic 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 supporting leg must remain straight ...

. González is currently serving a competition ban due to a second anti-doping violation. The ban is due to expire in November 2026.

Career

Performances

Raised in the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

, she first emerged as an elite level walker in the 2013 season. The 2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics 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 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, 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 ci ...

, 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 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. González's performance led Mexico to the women's team title, alongside her compatriots

Alejandra Ortega Alejandra Ortega (born 8 July 1994 in Mexico City) is a female racewalker from Mexico. She competed in the Women's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, where she finished 9th and at the 2015 Pa ...

and Lizbeth Silva. She was among the leading entrants at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 series.

Anti-doping violations

González has received two competition bans for anti-doping violations during her career. Her first ban of four years that lasted from November 2018 to November 2022 was issued after testing positive for the use of trenbolone. An appeal has dismissed in 2020. As a consequence of that ban, González received a second anti-doping violation band of four years to run from November 2022 to November 2026 due to tampering with the first investigation that included submitted forged documents and false testimony. An appeal was dismissed in 2023.

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 Race walking, or racewalking, 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 ...

– 1:06:55 (2014) *

– 1:28:37 (2016)

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Lupita Living people 1989 births Sportspeople from Tlalnepantla de Baz Mexican female race walkers Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games athletes for Mexico Pan American Games gold 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 sportswomen