Kimberly García: the Peruvian athlete who aspires to gold in Paris 2024

At 30 years old and in his prime, Garcia is the greatest hope of Peru at the Olympic Games following her successes in race walking.

Kimberly García, at 30 years old, has established herself as Peru’s great hope for a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. With an impressive track record of world titles in race walking, García is ready to make her mark on the Olympic stage.

From an early age, García showed exceptional aptitude for sport. At just 6 years old, she entered the El Tambo Walking School in Huancayo, an important training centre for athletes in Peru. Pedro Cañizares, one of her first coaches, remembers how from the beginning he saw great potential in her. “From the start, we knew she was going to be a high-performance athlete,” says Cañizares, who arrived in Peru in 1995 under an agreement between Cuba and Peru.

Training in the Andes

During her first stint in Peru, Cañizares observed a young “Kimy,” as her entourage calls her, excel in various athletic events. These included running, jumping, throwing and walking, designed to identify sporting talents. García met the necessary physical, psychological and medical profiles, demonstrating that she had the potential to become an elite athlete.

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After a break from training with Cañizares, Kimberly continued her training under the guidance of Pablo Callupe until the Cuban’s return in 2004. Under Cañizares’ tutelage, García began to obtain results at the international level from 2008, participating in her first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and winning medals in South American competitions.

Career on the rise

García’s progress was remarkable. In 2011, she began breaking national and international records, cementing her position as one of the best in her discipline. Her successes continued, leading her to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, she became world champion in the 20 and 35 kilometer events, and the following year she won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago.

In 2024, García has continued to reap success, taking first place in the 20km in the Czech Republic, the World Team Championship in Turkey and the 20km Grand Prix in Rio Maior, Portugal. Cañizares highlights García’s discipline and motivation as keys to her success: “She is very disciplined and was always motivated to become a champion.”

With the start of the Olympic Games just around the corner, her coach is confident that García is well prepared and psychologically motivated to meet her goals and bring joy to the Peruvian people. “The dream of being an Olympic medalist is within her reach,” concludes Cañizares, who hopes to see ‘Kimy’ crowned champion in Paris.