Note: Mexican March Aims for World Championships
In the following year, Mexican march will have as its main objective the World Championships of Athletics, to be held in England, where the Mexican Federation of Athletics Associations (FMAA) has already set the rules of the game for walkers seeking a place in that event. In the first instance, they must achieve the same required mark as the one demanded for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The required times for the World Championships, to be held from August 5th to 13th, 2017, are: 1:22:30 hours in men's 20 km, 1:34:00 in women's 20 km, and 3:51 hours in 50 km.
"Following the protocols we had in world events, we now ask for an average mark to be within the top 16 in the world. Therefore, we will continue with the times we established for the Rio Olympics," said Antonio Lozano, president of the Mexican Federation of Athletics Associations.
For the Rio Olympics, there were 11 athletes in the 20 km category who achieved the mark imposed by the mission headquarters, five in the 50 km category, and four women in the 20 km category. Now, the times achieved by each of the athletes at that time will be respected for the World Championships, and more walkers could be added to the list. Therefore, the places will be defined again in a National Championship, which will be held in Nuevo León in June.
"The junior categories are pushing hard, and what comes next for march is to continue working and being stricter with the participation rules in international events because we want to podium, and we must pay close attention to the integration of teams. We have a good pool of talent in march at international events, but only three of the 20km male category, three of the 20km female category, and three of the 50km male category will go to the World Championships, provided they meet the federation's standards," said Lozano.
Thus, Mexican walkers who want to attend the world championships must go through this selection process, which the athletes are already accustomed to.
"The Rio cycle was a great experience, and I already realized that I can be in the top positions on a global level with the 1:19:20 mark I have, and now I must prepare for the final selection process for the World Championships. The competition to go to that event will be equally fierce; only three Mexican walkers have a time below 1:20 hours, but there are several who are very close to us, so the ticket will be highly contested, and we must give our all in the national championship since the mark still does not guarantee that we are already in the London event," said Tadeo Vega, a walker.
Vega was left out of the Rio Olympics despite having a good mark, so he knows he must not rely on anything until he has the ticket in his pocket.
Quotes:
"We will ask for the same marks as in the Olympics, and the national championship will give the definitive tickets for the World Championships."
- Antonio Lozano, President of the FMAA.
"I already have the mark, but now I know that the national championship will be decisive, and I must focus on that event."
- Tadeo Vega, Mexican walker.
Fact: The IAAF marks for the World Championships are: 1:24:00 hours in men's 20 km, 1:36:00 in women's 20 km, and 4:06 hours in 50 km.
Name Event Time
Omar Pineda 20km 1:19:20 h
Tadeo Vega 20 km 1:19:20
Ever Palma 20 km 1:19: 38
Pedro Daniel Gómez 20 km 1:20:05
Julio César Salazar 20 km 1:20:24
Jorge Martínez 20 km 1:20:51
Isaac Palma 20 km 1:20:54
Eder Sánchez 20 km 1:21:31
Ricardo Ortiz 20 km 1:21:45
Erwin González 20 km 1:21:54
Omar Segura 20 km 1:22:19
Omar Zepeda 50 km 3:45:28
Horacio Nava 50 km 3:47:44
José Leyver 50 km 3:50:44
Jorge Martínez 50 km 3:51:11
Pedro Daniel Gómez 50 km 3:53:23
Guadalupe González 20 km 1:26:17
Alejandra Ortega 20 km 1:29:35
Guadalupe Sánchez 20 km 1:31:31
Gabriela González 20 km 1:33:41