Enrique Vera Ibáñez (born 31 May 1954) is a Mexican and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former

race walking 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 ...

athlete. His first major medal came at the 1975 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, where he beat his compatriot

Domingo Colín Domingo Colín (born 4 August 1952) is a Mexican former racewalker who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially brand ...

to win the

20 kilometres 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 un ...

title. Central American and Caribbean Championships (Men)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-02-22. The

50 kilometres race walk The 50 kilometre race walk was an Olympic athletics event that first appeared in 1932 and made its final Olympic appearance in 2021. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and th ...

was dropped from the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

programme and the

International Amateur Athletics Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering ...

held its own

1976 World Championships in Athletics The 1976 World Championships in Athletics () was the first global, international athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Hosted on 18 September 1976 in Malmö, Sweden, it featured just one ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

that year to make up for the omission. Vera came away with the silver medal in a time of 3:58:14 hours – the biggest accolade of his career. He failed to defend his regional 20 km title at the

1977 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 1977 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona in Xalapa, Mexico between 5–7 August. Medal summary Men's events Women's events A = affected by altitude Medal table Re ...

, as he was runner-up some distance behind the reigning Olympic champion

Daniel Bautista Daniel Bautista Rocha (born August 4, 1952) is a Mexican former track and field athlete and Olympic champion. He was born in El Salado, San Luis Potosí. In his relatively short career, Bautista dominated the walk, on the track as well ...

. He was part of a strong Mexican contingent in the men's 50 km at the

1977 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1977 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, on 24–25 September 1977. For the first time, a new competition name ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup'' was introduced replacing the former Lugano Trophy. As in 1975, the ...

, but he was disqualified at the competition. His next appearance on the world stage in the 50 km walk brought another medal: he was again behind another Mexican walker, this time Martín Bermúdez, but he took the

1979 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1979 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Eschborn, Federal Republic of Germany, on September 29–30, 1979. The event was also known as ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup''. The women's 5 km race was now officially introduced into the com ...

silver medal.IAAF WORLD RACE WALKING CUP - SARANSK 2012 - FACTS & FIGURES

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2014-02-22. After the 1970s he had less success internationally. He was disqualified at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1983 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1983 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 24 and 25 September 1983 in the streets of Bergen, Norway. The event was also known as ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup''. Complete results were published. Medallists Results Men's 20 km Men' ...

. With the launch of the first ever full programme

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

in 1983, Vera entered the

20 km 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 un ...

and finished in sixteenth place. He married fellow race walker Siv Vera-Ibañez and settled in her native Sweden. Enrique gained Swedish citizenship and had a brief comeback to represent his new country at the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries partic ...

(he was disqualified in the 50 km walk). The couple had two children,

Ato Ibáñez Andreas Enrique Anatole Vera Ibáñez (born 14 November 1985) is a male Swedish racewalker. He has represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics on four occasions, from 2011 to 2017. He walked for Sweden at the IAAF World Race ...

(1985) and Perseus Karlström (1990) both representing Sweden in race walking. The couple were later divorced.SWEDISH TEAM – MEDIA GUIDE. IAAF World Championships in Athletics – Daegu 2011
. Swedish Athletics Federation. Retrieved on 2014-02-22.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vera Ibanez, Enrique Living people 1954 births Mexican male race walkers Swedish male race walkers World Athletics Championships athletes for Mexico World Athletics Championships athletes for Sweden World Athletics Championships medalists Immigrants to Sweden Mexican emigrants 20th-century Mexican sportsmen 20th-century Swedish sportsmen