María Pérez (race walker)

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

María Pérez García (born 29 April 1996)^[2] is a Spanish race walker. She finished first in the 20 kilometers race walk and in the 35 kilometers race walk at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, fourth in the 20 kilometres walk at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Pérez won the gold medal in the event at the 2018 European Athletics Championships, setting a championship record in the process. She is the world record holder for the 35 km race walk with a time of 2:37:15, set on 21 May 2023 at the European Race Walking Team Championships in Poděbrady, Czech Republic.^[3]

María Pérez

Pérez in 2023
Personal information
Full name	María Pérez García
Born	(1996-04-29) 29 April 1996 (age 29) Orce, Spain[1]
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Race walking
Club	Valencia Club de Atletismo
Coached by	Daniel Jacinto Garzón
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Spain Olympic Games 2024 Paris Marathon walk relay 2024 Paris 20 km World Championships 2023 Budapest 20 km walk 2023 Budapest 35 km walk European Championships 2018 Berlin 20 km walk European Race Walking Team Championships 2025 Poděbrady 35 km walk Ibero-American Championships 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10,000 m walk European U23 Championships 2017 Bydgoszcz 20 km walk

Pérez won seven Spanish national racewalking titles.

She is openly lesbian and married to a musician.^[4]

Statistics

Personal bests

• 3000 metres race walk – 12:00.87 (Huelva 2018)
• 5000 metres race walk – 20:28.17 (Andújar 2022) NB
• 10,000 metres race walk – 43:42.04 (Getafe 2021)
• 10 kilometres race walk – 43:36 (Antequera 2021)
• 20 kilometres race walk – 1:25:30 (Córdoba 2023) NR
• 35 kilometres race walk – 2:37:15 (Poděbrady 2023) World record

International competitions

Representing  Spain

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
2013	World Youth Championships	Donetsk, Ukraine	7th	5000 m walk	23:48.11
2014	World Junior Championships	Eugene, United States	5th	10,000 m walk	44:57.30
2015	European Junior Championships	Eskilstuna, Sweden	4th	10,000 m walk	44:19.05
2016	Ibero-American Championships	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	10,000 m walk	45:31.83
2017	European U23 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	2nd	20 km walk	1:31:29
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	10th	20 km walk	1:29:37
2018	World Race Walking Cup	Taicang, China	8th	20 km walk	1:28:50
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	20 km walk	1:26:36 CR NR
2019	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	8th	20 km walk	1:35:43
2021	European Race Walking Team Championships	Poděbrady, Czech Republic	2nd	20 km walk	1:28:03
	Olympic Games	Sapporo, Japan	4th	20 km walk	1:30:05
2022	World Championships	Eugene, United States	–	20 km walk	DQ
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	–	20 km walk	DQ
2023	European Race Walking Team Championships	Poděbrady, Czech Republic	1st	35 km walk	2:37:15 WR
2024	Olympic Games	Paris, France	2nd	20 km walk	1:26:19
			1st	Mixed marathon walk relay	2:50:31