Horacio Nava finished in 13th place in the 50-kilometer race walk at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 3:50:53 hours; that was a result that the Chihuahua native did not expect after boasting that his preparation was aimed at achieving a better position.

Nava was discouraged for a while because of that performance, but after thinking about it he has decided to continue with another cycle in order to compete in his fourth Olympic Games, which he considers a personal challenge.

In this new path, the athlete, who is 34 years old, will have the same strategy of competing in more 20-kilometer races and leaving the 50-kilometer distance for the event marked on his calendar as the most important, which in this case will be the World Championships in London next year.

In the other two Olympic Games he has participated in, he achieved his best result in Beijing 2008, finishing sixth with a time of 3:45:21 hours, while in London 2012 he finished sixteenth with a time of 3:46:49.

Therefore, in Rio 2016, he could not break the 3:50-hour mark. As for the six World Championships he has participated in, his best performance was achieved in Moscow 2013, where he finished ninth with a time of 3:58:09.

When did you decide to continue with another Olympic cycle?

After Rio de Janeiro, I started analyzing and decided to continue with a lot of enthusiasm to fulfill another cycle. It is a personal challenge to continue to another stage and they have all been very different and difficult, I feel that this will not be the exception, but the goal is to reach Tokyo 2020.

The marathon and the 50-kilometer race walk are the longest events, but it also depends on how much you take care of yourself, and I am aware of all the effort that must be made during these four years.

What plans do you have for next year?

For this new Olympic cycle, we already have the mark to go to the World Championships in London and it is only a matter of maintaining the position within the National Championship in June in Monterrey.

Before that, I plan to compete in two or three 20-kilometer events and only compete in one 50-kilometer race, which would be the World Championships.

If I make it to London, it would be my seventh participation and my goal is to place within the top eight.

After that, the next goal is to continue with the Olympic cycle, but first I want to see if there are no injuries and also if there is motivation to continue in this sport.

In March, there are two events in Mexico that are very close together, which one will you participate in?

I will only be in one, then I would look for another one in Europe and participate in the Pan American Cup in Peru.

Of the two Challenge races that will take place in Mexico, I would like to be in the one in Ciudad Juárez because it is here in Chihuahua.

There are some who will participate in both events - the other one will be in Monterrey, Nuevo León - but in my case it is difficult because I don't adapt quickly to competing in such close competitions, but there will be some who participate in both.

I remember that last year I went to a competition in Germany, which I won in the 20-kilometer distance, but the next race was in La Coruña, and there I couldn't recover 100 percent, so I didn't achieve a good position anymore.