Daniel Painted I couldn’t believe it. There were only a few steps left to the finish line and the Ecuadorian was gesturing to the volunteers holding the ribbon. Paris 2024He marked the number one with his finger, pointing to his chest, where the Ecuadorian flag was displayed. As if he were trying to make sure that he was first. That it was true and not a dream. That he was going to win the gold medal in the 20 km walk, the first athletics medal at these Olympic Games.
“It’s so nice to wake up with a gold medal at the Olympics!” said Daniel Pintado. And it is so nice.
What came next can only be explained by joy. Pintado imitated Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous celebration, just as he did a year ago in Budapest 2023, where he was proclaimed vice-world champion. He clenched his fists, waved his arms, pointed to the sky. And wrapped in the Ecuadorian flag, he showed a photo of his children.
If only people knew how much sacrifice there is behind an Olympic flag.
“I was very nervous yesterday, I was crying in my room because I didn’t know what could happen. I knew I had trained hard and sacrificed so much, being away from my children,” he told reporters after crossing the finish line.
“I have two children, one two years old and the other nine, and I spent four months abroad without them, seeing them only through a screen. All of that goes through my mind.”
