Daniel Plaza

Daniel Plaza Montero (born 3 July 1966) is a Spanish former race walker who competed in the 20 km event at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.

Daniel Plaza

Personal information
Born	(1966-07-03) 3 July 1966 (age 59) Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
Sport	Race walking
Club	Valencia CA; Sideco; CEMA Prat; La Seda

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Plaza and the second or maternal family name is Montero.

Career

Plaza won a gold medal in the 20 km walk event at the 1992 Olympic Games in his native Barcelona by beating Guillaume LeBlanc by a second becoming the first Spanish track & field athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal.^[1]

He also won a silver medal at the 1990 European Championships in Split and bronze medal at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Spain
1988	Ibero-American Championships	Ciudad de México, México	3rd	20 km	1:27:23.0 A
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	12th	20 km	1:21:53
1989	World Race Walking Cup	L'Hospitalet, Spain	11th	20 km	1:22:09
1990	European Championships	Split, Yugoslavia	2nd	20 km	1:22:22
	Ibero-American Championships	Manaus, Brazil	—	20 km	DQ
1991	World Race Walking Cup	San Jose, United States	4th	20 km	1:21:00
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	1st	20 km	1:21:45
1993	World Race Walking Cup	Monterrey, Mexico	6th	20 km	1:24:52
	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	20 km	1:23:18
1994	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	—	20 km	DQ
1996	European Race Walking Cup	A Coruña, Spain	2nd	20 km	1:21:47
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	11th	20 km	1:22:05

Controversy

Plaza was cleared of a nandrolone related drug ban by Spain's Supreme Court in 2006.^[2]