How a childhood hobby made González a global medallist

As she celebrated her historic 20km race walk silver medal at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Alegna González heard a journalist congratulate her as the ‘pride of Ojinaga’, her hometown.

Elated and draped in the Mexican flag, González showed the reporter a magnet of Chihuahua, her home state and the place where her passion for race walking began when she was in primary school.

The medal was a reward for her consistency over the previous four years, during which she finished in the top eight at every major championship she contested, including fifth-place finishes at both the 2021 and 2024 Olympic Games.

“I feel at peace. I have been searching for this medal for quite a while now. I asked myself what I needed to do to win a medal. I was willing to do the work. I increased volume this year and my body responded well to the workload,” she said.

“I was laser focused to achieve a result like this,” she added. “Before, I’d never exceeded 30km in one session and this time we went 30-31km. I was mentally more prepared.”

González has carried that momentum into 2026, winning each of her four races so far this year. She opened her season with victory in the 5000m race walk at the Penn Relays, then won on her half marathon race walk debut in Rio Maior, setting a North American record of 1:32:15.

One week later, she triumphed in a high-quality race in La Coruña in 1:32:24 before completing a third victory in as many weekends by successfully defending her 10km title in Madrid.

Her reward after the World Championships was a one-week holiday in Tokyo with her younger brother Jorge. “I loved Japan. I loved the food and their distinct culture.”

But her silver medal performance had not been without drama. One week earlier, she had been entered for the 35km but was unable to compete because of stomach complications.

“I put on the national uniform and went to see my teammates,” she recounted. “I became very anxious. Watching the race, I knew I could be in the mix. When I saw the athletes entering the stadium through the tunnel, I had goosebumps and told myself I wanted a medal so badly.”

González went on to finish behind Spain’s four-time world champion Maria Perez in a North American record of 1:26:06. Her performance came one week after fellow Mexican and Chihuahua native Uziel Muñoz earned a historic silver medal in the men’s shot put.

They were Mexico’s first World Championships medals since 2017 and marked the first time in 24 years that the country had won two medals at the same edition.

González’s performance also capped an outstanding championships for Latin American women, with seven athletes from six countries combining to win one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

“I loved being part of history,” she said. “Uruguay’s Julia Paternain’s bronze medal in the marathon really inspired me, and we all showed we can compete with the world’s best.”

How her passion for race walking began

González’s names, Alegna Ariday, reverse those of her mother, Angela Yadira.

Growing up in Ojinaga, on the Mexico-USA border in the state of Chihuahua, González regularly joined her uncles Jesús, David and Ricardo at Running GM, the children’s running club they manage. The club’s initials represent the family surnames González and Muñoz.

In October 2025, following her World Championships success, the local stadium was named in her honour.

“I was in primary school,” she remembers. “We tried many athletics disciplines. We did race walking one day and my uncles immediately discovered I had the talent for it.

“My technique was natural from the start. I have always had a good leg extension, but my arms were moving too high.”

When González joined Ignacio Zamudio 10 years ago, they worked on lowering her arms. Zamudio had represented Mexico at the 1996 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the 50km race walk.

Despite early success at national level, fast times and two Pan American U20 titles in 2017, González contemplated leaving the sport. She had moved alone to Mexico City at the age of 16 and missed her family.

Zamudio persuaded her to remain in the sport for one more year and reconsider her options after the 2018 season.

Victory in the U20 race at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Taicang changed her mindset.

“It confirmed I had the talent to succeed,” she said. “I went from being a spoiled girl to being more focused on sport. Life in sport can be very short, and my family will always be there.”

She capped that year with another victory at the World U20 Championships in Tampere.

Her transition to the senior ranks was then interrupted by surgery on her right knee in 2019. It delayed her senior global championship debut until the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she finished fifth.

The 2024 Olympic Games provided another turning point in her belief that she could become a serious medal contender.

Reflecting on her fifth-place finish in the mixed marathon race walk relay, she said: “My 10km and 11km splits showed me I could aim for the next level. It really changed my mindset.”

Alongside winning her first senior global medal, González ended 2025 by completing her degree in sports science at La Salle University in Mexico City.

Her training programme includes double sessions from Monday to Thursday alongside her teammates, 2022 world U20 champion Ximena Serrano, Valeria Flores and Nadia González.

“We support each other in long distances and play traditional northern Mexican music like bandas and corridos during the long walks. Our physician Felipe Naranjo and coach Ignacio (Zamudio) regularly run alongside with us.”

Her wider support team includes physiotherapist Jesús Reyes and psychologist Julieta Juanz at the Centro Nacional de Desarrollo de Talentos Deportivos y Alto Rendimiento, Mexico’s National High Performance Centre, where González lives.

Her preference for routine also extends beyond training.

“I am a pretty simple person outside of the sport. I don’t like unexpected things, so I watch TV series and films. I love Mexican breakfasts on Sundays, my day off, and visiting my family when I can.”

Zamudio has provided another source of stability during the decade they have worked together.

“He changed my way of thinking and outlook on life,” says González. “He knows me well and is my family away from home.”

González also appreciates the encouragement she has received from many of Mexico’s great race walkers, including Olympic champions Raúl González and the late Ernesto Canto.

But one piece of advice from Zamudio has stayed with her.

“He told me, ‘you have done the hardest job in training. In competition, you will never feel worse than your worse days in training’. It helps me to keep going,” she said.

After her unbeaten start to 2026, González now turns her attention to the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, where she will contest the half marathon race walk on 2 August, the opening day of the athletics programme.

“I always heard that reaching the world level is one thing, but staying among the best is harder,” she says. “I want to stay consistent and continue to achieve excellent results. Race walking has made me a better person. When I first started, I had no idea about its rich history in Mexico. It made me a more secured person, shape my character and be hungry to better myself.”

Javier Clavelo Robinson for World Athletics