2006 IAAF Race Walking Challenge winner Francisco Javier Fernández of Spain known more commonly as ‘Paquillo' in the race walking world has set out on a circuitous but familiar path to what the 2004 Olympic and two-time World championship 20km silver medallist and his famous coach Robert Korzeniowski hope will be gold at this summer’s World Championships in Osaka.

https://worldathletics.org/news/news/fernandez-to-race-in-belfast-at-the-end-of-hi

Currently training in Huelva, Spain, with the Russian walker Ilya Markov, Fernández will travel to the Irish Indoor Athletics Championships on 17 February to end what he calls his “winter cycle of speed” with his third 5000m race of the winter – following the Granada Grand Prix of 8 December and the Christmas Cup in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 7 January.

Fernández has stated he intends to set another Spanish record in Belfast. He walked a new record for the event just last month (in coming third in Yekaterinburg behind Aleksandr Yargunkin and Ivan Kuznetsov of Russia, in a time of 18:39.58) but has another target in his sights as three seconds quicker would beat the meeting record that is currently held by his coach!

During Korzeniowski's illustrious career he regularly competed in the Christmas Cup and in 2004, prior to winning gold in Athens, came over to take the Irish title in Belfast’s impressive Odyssey Arena in a time of 18:38.79.

Racing particularly in such far-flung destinations may seem less appealing than warmer weather training in Spain at this time of year, but it is a task that Fernandez is determined to take on and compete against the best as part of his plan to win gold in Osaka.

The double European 20km champion is certainly showing good form having raced to a fast 38:25 for 10km in the Andalusia road walk championship in San Fernando on 3 February - and winning less than a second over Ilya Markov.

Korzeniowski has confirmed that Fernández will compete in IAAF Race Walking Challenge events this year in Shenzhen, China on 24 March; La Coruña, Spain, on 2 June, and Krakow, Poland, on 23 June.

He will also compete in the Spanish 20km Championship on 4 March although pre-selected by the Spanish Federation for Osaka. He has, however, opted not to compete in the European Cup of Race Walking in May in favour of four weeks altitude training in Morocco ahead of the La Coruña leg of the Challenge.

Fernandez, who turns 30 next month, has said he will travel to Osaka two weeks prior to the World Championship 20km, and afterwards will consider racing in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge final in Saransk, Russia, on 29 September.

The Spaniard claimed the IAAF Race Walking Challenge title last year in winning the World Cup in La Coruña, after beating off his long time nemesis Jefferson Perez. In 2007, with the expert advice of Robert Korzeniowski, he plans to make sure he finally takes the World Championship crown.

Tim Watt for the IAAF