The latest high-profile addition to confirm his participation is Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado, who shone at the Olympic Games in Paris two years ago by winning the 20 km race and adding a silver medal in the mixed relay. A year earlier, he also claimed silver at the World Championships in Budapest. He will appear in Poděbrady for the first time in four years. Since his highly successful Olympic performance, Pintado has competed only once, in his home country of Ecuador, making Poděbrady his first international race in quite some time.
However, he will face a tough challenge, as two other newly announced names on the старт list are athletes who have already won in Poděbrady. One of them is Brazil’s Caio Bonfim, who finished second at the Paris Olympics just behind Pintado. His most successful championship came last year in Tokyo, where he won gold in the 20 km and silver in the 35 km. He also won Poděbrady Walking four years ago.
A year before that, Italy’s Francesco Fortunato dominated the Spa Colonnade during the European Race Walking Team Championships. Last year, he earned silver at the same event. He knows the local course perfectly—this year will mark his tenth start there. The bronze medalist from the 2024 European Championships in Rome also confirmed excellent form a few weeks ago in Brasília, where he won the half marathon at the World Race Walking Team Championships.
Earlier, two more athletes who traditionally perform very well in Poděbrady had already confirmed their participation: Sweden’s multiple World Championship medalist Perseus Karlström and Germany’s European Cup winner in Poděbrady, Christopher Linke.
