Mexican race walker Éder Sánchez received praises after his first participation in the 50k race at Dudince, Slovakia, where he finished in a respectable ninth place with a time of 3:53:19.

For Mexico's race walking family, the first participati on of Éder Sánchez, 24, left a good taste in their mouths, since the race walker is an expert in the 20k event and has the best results internationally.

'He was doing very well at the competition', explained Mexico's 1992 Olympic 50k silver medalist Carlos Mercenario Carbajal. 'He kept an average time of 9 minutes, 15 seconds per lap and there was a moment in which he got behind in one only lap (2 kilometers) and increased the time by around five minutes. But then he recovered quickly. After that, his time decreased a little during the 36th kilometer but then he kept the pace'.

Mercenario remembered that Éder Sánchez Terán, 20k bronze medalist at Berlin 2009 World Championships, 'didn't have a special training for the 50k event. In spite of that, his mark of 3:53 is respectable as it was his debut, which helps him to strengthen for his 20k performance'.

When talking about the concern of the 2009 National Sports Award's recipient to qualify for the 20k and 50k events on the road to London 2012 Olympics, Mercenario Carbajal considered that 'is still an option; however, I think he should focus on the 20k race'.

Joel Sánchez, 50k bronze Olympic medalist at Sydney 2000, agreed with Carbajal by suggesting that his nephew should be focused on the 20k race in this Olympic cycle. 'It¿s justifiable that he competes in the 50k race to strengthen his main event 20k, in which he is our best athlete and where at the moment I believe that he should continue to compete. And perhaps after the London Games he should start in the 50k'.

When talking about Éder Sánchez's performance at Slovakia, he said, 'I was surprised with the mark he got because nearly all athletes that compete in the 50k event for the first time achieve a time of four hours. I did 4:22 in my first time! So, I think his mark of 3:53 is extraordinary; it will give him confidence in his next competitions'

It should be noted that in his season start, Éder Sánchez won the 20k event of the '2011 International Circuit of Race Walking at Chihuahua' and then finished ninth in the aforementioned 50k race at Dudince, Slovakia. In these two competitions, he is awarded points for the IAAF 2011 Race Walking Challenge.

On April 9, he will go back to the 20k race at the International Great Prize of Rio Maior, Portugal.

Terra sports/Veronica Carbajal