“Kimberly took us to the top” but “our cradle of athletes is in Huancayo and there is no CAR”: what we need to be a world power in athletics

Be careful, the World Team Walking Championship is an Olympic qualifier for the mixed relay walking marathon, one of the novelties in athletics for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games that will take place this year.

Given this, Trade conducted a survey of prominent journalists specialized in multi-sports topics to analyze the success of Kimberly García.

Ale Salgado – Diario Depor

1. Of course Kimberly can inspire, in fact, I have been saying for quite some time now, Paris 2024 is going to mark history for Peru. This World Cup for Athletic Walking teams is a very important measure. I am not only saying this for Kimberly, but for Evelyn Inga, who came fourth after a penalty, since she could have been on the podium. So, I believe that it is not an illusion, but that it is marking a history, that we are close to an Olympic medal after years, since the last one was in 1992.

2. What Kimberly is going to prove is that she is the best athlete in history, definitely.

3. Our cradle of athletes is in Huancayo and there is no CAR for them. I don’t know what they are waiting for, sport has to be decentralized. Our cradle of athletes is in Huancayo and does not have a center where we can train. They have to give priority to completing the construction of the High Performance Center.

Erick Garay – El Poli

1. Kimberly García today is the athlete with the most possibilities of the Peruvian delegation to win a medal at the Paris Olympic Games. She has proven it, once again, now in the World Athletic Walking Team Championship, winning the 20 km test, she prepared all this year aiming for the Olympic medal, so today, she is competing at the same level as the Chinese marchers, who are a power in the world. Today Kimberly is in that group that can be considered the world’s elite in athletic walking. In any case, Kimberly is our main card to achieve a gold, silver or bronze medal in the Olympic Games in Peru.

2. Without a doubt yes, but let’s remember that she is not the only one who has 3 world titles, Sofia Mulánovich in surfing also has three world titles and some more medals in the most important surfing tournaments. So we measure it by titles, there are athletes who also have the same number of world titles as Kimberly. Even at the para sports level there are athletes like Jimmy Euler, who has medals in the Paralympic Games. Always talking about the best or most successful athlete requires a much more exhaustive review of other athletes. In this case, as I told you, Kimberly is at the top of the world in athletic walking, at the top of Peru and is among the best Peruvian athletes in history.

3. Nowadays there is a lot of support for athletes in sports that were not so popular. Even Kimberly García receives monthly support, in fact, she is in a permanent PAD for the world title. It is a monthly support that is not little and that is active until she continues competing. As long as she competes, she will receive the permanent PAD, which is one of the latest programs that the IPD launched, which is support for athletes who have world achievements, gold medals at the world level, and in this case there is Kimberly Garcia. Today the IPD support programs for high-performance athletes are quite generous, there are even athletes who receive 5,100 soles per month as part of the support program, this without counting what they receive from sponsorships. I believe that support for high performance has improved a lot, I have given you clear examples. The improvement in support should be in the initiation of the athlete, I believe that the support before the athlete wins the medal and not wait for him to win before giving him this support. This requires an exhaustive analysis by the technical committees of each federation and even the IPD. What would improve is that this support they receive from the public sector could be complemented with the support of private companies, through sponsorships. It is a field that would increase constantly in the support of high-performance athletes and that private companies realize that there is a very interesting asset in supporting high-performance athletes and can associate their brand with their image and the values ​​that come with being an elite athlete in the country.

Margarita Rivera – El Poli

1. I think so, she is definitely a strong candidate, after the walking title, she is in 2nd place in the world ranking, she has confirmed many of her achievements since she won the gold medal and she confirmed it firmly in all the championships who participated. In fact, she is a candidate to take into account in these Olympic Games.

2. I don’t dare say if it is the best in history. Let me think, we have an Olympic champion and that goes above anything, but I would dare to say that in women she is the best. I don’t remember any name that has had so many titles and especially at this level. Also, let’s remember that athletics is a sport that requires too much effort. Kimberly has taken us to the top, if she is not the best, she is among the best Peruvian athletes in all of history.

3. I believe that by generating resources from private companies, the State is not in a position to support, because there is not enough budget for sport, to provide everything that an athlete needs, but it is in a position to generate The private company gets involved with discounts and laws that encourage the private company to invest more in athletes. In fact, he must be a manager and generate resources for the athlete. If we do not have the support of private companies, the state will hardly be able to fully assume the growth of an athlete at this level, since the investment is considerable and the budget is little at a general level.