Out world champion joins tiny group of legends that includes Usain Bolt
In Tokyo, out gay Spanish race walker Maria Perez toasted her 'double double' of World Athletics Championships gold medals with champagne. The post Out world champion joins tiny group of legends that includes Usain Bolt appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
When Maria Perez crossed the 20km race walk finish line at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday, she joined a select group of track and field legends.
Carl Lewis. Usain Bolt. Mo Farah. Before Perez, these were the only athletes to have won gold medals in the same two events in consecutive World Athletics Championships.
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Doing the ‘double-double’ sends the Spaniard into the athletics history books and cements her status as a “Team LGBTQ” icon. However, her sporting ambitions are far from over.
At Paris 2024, she claimed Olympic gold alongside Alvaro Martin in the inaugural marathon walk relay, and an individual silver medal in the 20km event.
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The allure of a solo gold is what will now drive her onwards to the Los Angeles 2028 Games. After that, she hopes to embark on a new adventure.
“I’m in my last Olympic cycle,” Perez recently told AFP.
“When the Games are in Los Angeles, I’ll be 32. And I’m thinking about motherhood because I love children, and I believe there’s life beyond sports.
“Everything in life has its time, and I think after Los Angeles, it will be time for that.”
On Saturday, her 20km time was a season-best, and followed on from her repeat 35km triumph the previous weekend. She said she’d always dreamed of achieving a victory inside a national stadium.
“In the end, the trick was to enjoy… best prep of my career,” Perez wrote in a post-race message on Instagram.
She also paid a tender tribute to fellow elite race walker and training partner Antonella Palmisano, the 20km Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020.
The Italian was the runner-up to Perez in the 35km race last weekend. Rivals on the track, they have a close bond outside of competition.
“The medal is also yours @nellypalmi,” added the Spaniard, with a red heart emoji. “For going through a lot of this process together, for being a reference for me, for holding my hand and not letting go… For making you part of my family.”
Champagne celebrations for marvelous Maria Perez
In the last year, Perez has become more prominent in Spain as an LGBTQ athlete advocate.
She is a supporter of the “Sport with Pride” campaign run by Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD), and spoke alongside other queer athletes at a meeting organized by the governing body ahead of Madrid Pride in July.
Her fellow race walker Marc Tur, who finished fourth in the men’s 50km Olympic race four years ago, was also present at that meeting.
“We demand a sport free from discrimination, and the fact that the CSD is joining this Saturday’s demonstration [Madrid Pride] is another step in continuing to defend a safe environment,” wrote Perez on her social media accounts.
In 2022, she married DJ and musician Noe Morillas. At the time, they shared images of their wedding day on Instagram.
Her twin triumphs at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships increased her standing as a role model. There are still relatively few publicly out gay world champions, particularly beyond women’s team sports.
Ahead of this year’s event, she was asked by AFP how she felt about that responsibility.
“I think it’s important for everyone to be themselves, for everyone to show who they really are. I’m very happy if I’ve helped someone in the LGBTQ community by being who I am, by being myself,” she said.
“I limit myself to working on my own thing and living who I am. I feel privileged. I don’t think I’m much of a role model, but I’m always willing to help.”
@worldathletics Doble Doblete From Budapest to Tokyo, Maria Perez successfully defends both her 35km and 20km titles
#WorldAthleticsChamps ♬ original sound – WorldAthletics
Humble and honorable, her gold medals alone put Spain joint-fifth on the Tokyo medal table before Sunday’s finale. Celebrations were in store.
“I’m going to the Shibuya neighborhood tonight, I’m going to have sushi with Antonella and we’re going to see what Shibuya is like, a little karaoke,” Perez told reporters.
“And I have a bottle of champagne that’s been waiting for me for the 16 days I’ve been here.”
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The post Out world champion joins tiny group of legends that includes Usain Bolt appeared first on Outsports.
