Alberto Cruz
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Mexico
IAAF World Race Walking Cup
Bronze medal – third place1993 Monterrey20 km walk

Alberto Cruz (born 6 June 1972) is a Mexican former racewalker. He was a world junior champion and took a bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. Amongst his senior honours are gold medals from the Central American and Caribbean and Ibero-American Championships.

Career

Cruz was highly successful as a junior athlete. He won three straight golds at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, winning his first at the age of fourteen in 1986 and his last in 1990.[1] He became world junior champion in 1988 and returned two years later to defend his title, narrowly finishing second behind Ilya Markov (who would go on to win an Olympic medal in the sport).[2] Cruz also won two consecutive gold medals at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships (1989 and 1991).[3]

On his senior debut for Mexico, a sixteen-year-old Cruz was disqualified at the 1988 Pan American Race Walking Cup. He performed well in his subsequent outings, however, taking tenth at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships and fourth at the 1990 Pan American Race Walking Cup, which was held on hom turf and saw a Mexican sweep of the top four with Ernesto Canto, Joel Sánchez and Carlos Mercenario.[4][5]

He established himself regionally with a gold medal win at the 1991 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics held in Xalapa, Mexico, beating his compatriot and runner-up Víctor Sánchez by over three minutes. His finishing time of 1:27:09 hours was a championship record.[6] Another gold medal followed in the 20,000 metres track walk at the 1992 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, bettering South American opposition in Clodomiro Moreno and Jefferson Pérez.[7]

Cruz appeared to signify a move into the global elite with a bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, joining countryman Daniel García on the podium in Monterrey, Mexico.[8] However, this proved to be one of the last high-profile performances of his career. He made one more international outing at the 2000 Pan American Race Walking Cup, but failed to finish the event.[4]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1986 CAC Junior Championships Mexico City, Mexico 1st 5000 m walk 22:57
1988 CAC Junior Championships Nassau, Bahamas 1st 10,000 m walk 46:05
World Junior Championships Sudbury, Canada 1st 10,000 m walk 41:16.11
Pan American Race Walking Cup Mar de Plata, Argentina — 20 km walk DQ
1989 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 10th 5000 m walk 20:18.99
Pan American Junior Championships Santa Fe, Argentina 1st 10,000 m walk 42:00.21
1990 CAC Junior Championships Havana, Cuba 1st 10,000 m walk 44:11.00
World Junior Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2nd 10,000 m walk 39:56.49
Pan American Race Walking Cup Xalapa, Mexico 4th 20 km walk 1:22:52
1991 Pan American Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 10,000 m walk 42:38.51
CAC Championships Xalapa, Mexico 1st 20 km walk 1:27:09 CR
1992 Ibero-American Championships Seville, Spain 1st 20,000 m walk 1:25:35.9
Pan American Race Walking Cup Guatemala City, Guatemala 3rd 20 km walk 1:28:32
1993 World Race Walking Cup Monterrey, Mexico 3rd 20 km walk 1:24:37
2000 Pan American Race Walking Cup Poza Rica, Mexico — 20 km walk DQ

References

  1. ↑ Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics (Men) Archived 2010-12-26 at the Wayback Machine. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  2. ↑ World Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  3. ↑ Pan American Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  4. 1 2 Aguilera, Rubén. Historia de las Copas Panamericanas de Marcha Atlética 1984-2007 Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Association of Panamerican Athletics, pg. 122. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  5. ↑ Alberto Cruz. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  6. ↑ Central American and Caribbean Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  7. ↑ Ibero-American Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
  8. ↑ World and Continental Race Walking Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
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