Andrés Chocho

Career

Born in Cuenca, Ecuador (the same city as 1996 Olympic racewalk champion Jefferson Pérez), he began racewalking at a young age and made his international debut at 15 years old. He took third in both the youth 10 km at the 1999 South American Racewalking Cup and the 10,000 m walk at the 1999 South American Junior Championships in Athletics. The year after he improved to second at the youth section of the South American Cup, but was disqualified for lifting at the 2000 South American Junior Championships. In spite of this he was chosen to compete at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics held in Santiago de Chile and came 24th. He ended the year with a win over 10,000 m at the 2000 South American Youth Championships in Athletics.

The 2001 South American Junior Championships in Athletics were held in conjunction with the 2001 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in October and he won the South American 10,000 m walk title, while finishing second in the Pan American race behind Mexico's Horacio Nava. Later that month he won the 10 km junior road title at the South American Cup. In his final year of junior competition he was runner-up to Brazil's Rafael Duarte in the 2002 South American Junior Championships and placed eighteenth in the 10,000 m walk at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics. That year also marked his senior debut at the 2002 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, where he took 34th place in the 20 km walk category, as well as a tenth-place finish at the South American Cup.

Chocho did not compete in major competition in 2003 but returned in 2004 he placed fifth in the South American Cup. He was disqualified at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in both 2004 and 2006. He set a personal best of 1:22:31 hours for the 20 km walk at the Na Rynek Marsz meet in June 2007, but managed only 13th place at the 2007 Summer Universiade and was again disqualified at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. He came ninth at the 2008 South American Race Walking Cup and managed finishes of 38th and 39th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, respectively. He also improved his best to 1:22:05 hours at that year's Na Rynek Marsz meet. His highlights of 2009 were a twelfth-place finish at the 2009 Summer Universiade and 39th place at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

Chocho was disqualified at the 2010 South American Cup, but managed 31st at the 2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. He debuted over the 50 km walk distance that October and set a time of 3:54:42 hours in Congers, New York. The 2011 season saw Chocho reach new heights in his career. He began with a win at the national championships, but failed to finish at the 2011 Pan American Race Walking Cup. He rebounded with a near-personal best of 1:22:18 hours to take eighth at Rio Maior's Grande Premio Internacional en Marcha Atletica. That June he broke the South American record for the 20,000 m walk at the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics, winning the gold medal in a time of 1:20:23.8 hours. He followed this with a bronze medal performance at the 2011 Summer Universiade.

Making his championship debut over the distance, Chocho proved himself more adept at the longer distance and took eleventh place at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics with a South American record time of 3:49:32 hours. He ended the year at the 2011 Pan American Games, but was disqualified in the 50 km walk event. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics but was disqualified just beyond an hour into the 50 km race having been shown three red cards.

Personal life

He is married to a Brazilian race walker, Érica de Sena.

Track walk

Road walk