Daniel Bautista (athlete)

Daniel Bautista (born August 4, 1952 in Mexico City ) is a former Mexican walker and Olympic champion .

In his relatively short career, Bautista dominated both the track and the road. He gained international attention in 1975 when he won the 20 km walk at the Pan American Games in Mexico City , making him one of the favorites for the Olympic Games the following year. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal he won the gold medal ahead of the two GDR goers Hans-Georg Reimann (silver) and Peter Frenkel (bronze), who had been Olympic champion in this discipline four years earlier.

In the years that followed, Bautista set two new world records over 20 km, as well as some best times of the year in other distances. In 1977 and 1979 he also won the IAAF World Race Walking Cup over 20 km. At the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 he also took part, but was, while in the lead, disqualified because of a step error 1,800 meters from the finish. He also took part in the 50 km walk but had to give up after 30 km. Then he ended his sporting career. He was trained by Jerzy Hausleber .

Web links

• Daniel Bautista in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )