Daniel Pintado cried on the eve of his race, before going to sleep in the Olympic village, thinking of his two sons. A voice message from one of them was the key to becoming an Olympic champion.
Pintado gave Ecuador its first medal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday by finishing first in the 20-kilometer race walk.
Pintado, 29, clocked 1:18.55, beating Brazilian Caio Bonfim, who took silver in 1:19.09. Spaniard Álvaro Martín completed the podium with 1:19:11.
“Someone told me that you have to compete without pressure, but I say that you have to feel it,” said Pintado. “Yesterday in my room I was nervous, I missed my family. My son sent me an audio and told me ‘don’t worry, that’s what you’ve trained for, for me you’ll always be a champion’.”
And now he has a medal to prove it.
DANIEL PINTADO, OLYMPIC CHAMPION! 🇪🇨🥇
The Ecuadorian made history for his country by winning gold in the 20km walk. ✨
It is the fourth Olympic gold in the history of #TeamEcuador.#Olympic Games #Paris2024 | @ECUADORolimpico @danielpintado1 pic.twitter.com/Nv7cZPSXS1
— The Olympic Games (@juegosolimpicos) August 1, 2024
With his gold, Pintado joins his compatriots Jefferson Pérez, Richard Carapaz and Neisi Dajomes as the only Ecuadorians to finish on the top of an Olympic podium.
Pintado managed to emulate them in his third Games, at a time when he himself did not think he could achieve it.
“In Rio I thought I could win everything and I finished 37th, then in Tokyo I felt I could and I finished 12th. Today, I had a lot of doubts about myself, but I was able to win,” he said.
Pérez, who competed in the same discipline, won gold in Atlanta 96 and a silver in Beijing 2008.
The legendary race walker was an advisor to the team, but Pintado said that the credit goes to his coach, Daniel Andrés Chocho.
GOLDEN WALKER! 🌟
This is Ecuador’s third medal in the 20 km race walk. #Olympic Games
🥇 Jefferson Perez in Atlanta 1996
🥈 Jefferson Perez in Beijing 2008
🥇 Brian Daniel Painted in #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/gGCg6VQpli— The Olympic Games (@juegosolimpicos) August 1, 2024
“My idol is my coach, he was the one who always told me what to do. He told me it was a six-speed car, that we should go in five and at the end I should put it in sixth. He wasn’t wrong, I was tired, but I had an extra gear,” recalled Pintado. “When I saw the finish line 200 metres away I couldn’t believe that I was going to be champion. I still can’t believe it.”
In addition to Pérez, Caparaz, Dajomes and Pintado, Ecuador has a medal from Tamara Salazar in weightlifting, won three years ago in Tokyo.
Pintado had a solid race and stayed among the leading group from the start to reach the top of the podium.
“It’s the details that make Olympic champions. If you saw, we’re all at the same level because it was decided at the end,” he added.
Among the details that made the difference for the Ecuadorian, in addition to the advice from his coach, were a photo of his children Nicolás and Monserrat, a chain that one of them gave him and a white band that hung from his chest, a gift from his mother.
“This is for my coach, my children and my mother, (for) my father who made me a hard-working person and for 18 million Ecuadorians,” Pintado added. “Today I didn’t make history, we all made it together.”
The Ecuadorian alternated in first place until after half of the course, located near the Eiffel Tower, in a solid battle with the Chinese Zhang Yun, who lost gas shortly after.
Pintado maintained the lead and was attacked by Brazilian Bonfim, who moved up 16 places to place second at kilometer 14.
Pintado left the podium zone one kilometre later when Italian Massimo Stani took the lead followed by Martín, but he remained within the group of six escapees and returned to the medal zone with three kilometres to go.
He retook the lead in the final kilometer and did not relinquish it until he crossed the finish line.
After taking a couple of steps, the Ecuadorian jumped and emulated the celebration of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo when he scores a goal.
“That celebration was more for my children and my nephews, I didn’t know how to celebrate because I still can’t believe it,” he added. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
For now, history for Ecuador.
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