Javier Fernandez en route to his 20Km Race Walk win in Gothenburg (© Getty Images)
Francisco Javier Fernández who earlier this month was elected the best male Spanish athlete of 2006 in a poll made by the athletics magazine “Atletismo Español”, the official magazine of the Spanish Federation (RFEA), has confirmed he is aiming at a two peak season in 2007.
Last summer Fernández who retained his European 20km Race Walk title, is looking to be at his best for both the IAAF Race Walking Challenge and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan in 2007.
'Paquillo' Fernández, who is the defending Race Walking Challenge champion, and has taken silver medals over 20km at the 2004 Olympics and the 2003 and 2005 World Championships commented:
“My two European (2002 and 2006) victories were different. In Munich (2002) I achieved my first important success after two years of bad results and the happiness I felt was bigger than when I won in Gothenburg (2006). After that victory (2002) I grew up and started to achieve important things. In Gothenburg I confirmed that four years later I continued to be the best walker in Europe. If I had to choose between the two medals I prefer the one achieved in Munich.”
Fernández, the second fastest 20km race walker of all-time (1:17:22, Turku FIN 28 April 2002) just one second behind the current World record of Jefferson Pérez (ECU) continued:
“This year the most important competition is the World Championships in Osaka and my main objective is to have a good performance there….I think I can be in a good condition in two different periods of the year, one of them in spring, near 100% to compete in the Walking Challenge, and the other in August for the Worlds”.
Ignacio Mansilla for the IAAF