Wind Foot Ballad

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Gabriel Mariaca Ituri, former Bolivian athlete

Born in Oruro 35 years ago, he is now Bolivia’s first world elite athlete. As is often the case in these parts, talent needs neither to be found nor to be trained: they emerge spontaneously, explode, and then often perish between oblivion and poverty.

On August 27, Héctor Garibay told us his own parable about his ambition, bravery, ingenuity and talent, which immediately made him known among Kenyans and Ethiopians as “owners” of long-distance running Rumors arose among the people about the brave Bolivian. , if no one knows him, where did he come from.

like every orphan Hector is alone. He was born in the town of Tortoral, in the municipality of Pasnia, near the almost disappeared Lake Pópo. As a child, he said, he was almost forced to travel long distances to help his parents in the Bolivian highlands. At the age of 11, they moved to the city and started playing sports. Football is his hobby.To survive, learn auto mechanics Over time, he became a taxi driver.

Now that I am older, Football injury causes him to quit As part of his recovery, he visited the Jesus Bermudez Stadium and jogged lap after lap. The stubbornness in his trot, His rhythm and discipline They caught the attention of several coaches Couple Nemia Coca and Marcelo Peñaranda invited Héctor to join their “Pies de Viento” team.

This invitation will unknowingly change Hector’s life forever.

Either the dollar or the championship

Two years ago Héctor had already organized an international marathon for us in Buenos Aires, which he won and set a national record that had not been broken for more than 30 years. In the end, a Bolivian marathon runner ran nearly 2 hours and 10 minutes. In February this year, at the Seville Marathon, Garibay His time of 2:07:44 set his best time to date and set a new national record.so Qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest on August 23. At the same time, he has entered a select group of elite marathoners who have run times under two hours and eight minutes.

On the same day, the Mexico City Marathon was announced, the most important gold medal marathon in the entire Latin American region. He had to choose between World Cup glory in Budapest and a bag of dollars. As an orphan of the country, he decided to fight for the US dollar.

Hours before the start of the Mexico Marathon, Ugandan Victor Kiplangat won the gold medal in Budapest with a time of 2 hours, 08 minutes and 53 seconds. On the same day, Garibay in Mexico ran 30 seconds faster than Kiplangat. He is almost as much a world champion as the Ugandan.

Some “antimakurka” thighs

The night before the Mexico City Marathon, Hector went for a jog around the city. I saw it in the background, surely illuminated, at the same spot where a Spaniard named Cortes had conquered Tenochtitlan centuries earlier. With the same belief, with the same ambition, Hector reexamined his career strategy: from the beginning, he would not ignore Africans, elite guests and unquestioned guests.

Already in the game, At 5km, Héctor can’t hold his moisturizer Then he threw it away. He managed to get into the lead group from the start, but the accident could cost him dearly. He turned around and picked up the isotonic drink and proceed to resume the original position. In similar situations, no one would dare to do so due to energy costs. Showing his courage for the first time.

From the beginning, Garibe stubbornly blended into the team of 10 Africans and joined the elite group. The number 24 and “Bolivia” emblazoned on his jersey indicated two unexpected things: a runner with a limited resume who was also Bolivian. Had the pleasure of interacting with a marathon “owner”. Totally incongruous. “This is Garibay, Hector Garibay,” one of them said, turning to his database, which already provided biographical information, his age, origin and era. The speakers gradually turned surprise and caution into enthusiasm and encouragement.

21 kilometersexactly half of the marathon Héctor takes the initiative and takes the lead. “I feel like my thighs are giving me strength,” he said in a conversation with a Mexican YouTuber. I can’t feel the lactic acid in my muscles, which should be obvious by now.

Marathon legend

From that moment on, Garibay saw a Hispanic man on the street leading the marathon and was encouraged by the Mexican. He was just another Mexican, a blood brother.

At 32 kilometers, Héctor could no longer feel the pain in his feet from the two bleeding nails. He tries harder, Kenyan Edwin Krop is exhausted He resigned, but this little gentleman appeared out of nowhere and took away his first place. In another deposition, Garibay admitted that he had “lost respect for Africans.”

There is no doubt that his entry into the Zocalo Plaza in Mexico City was a historic image and will go down as one of the most important milestones in Bolivian athletics: Hector looked at his Garmin watch and saw that he was about to break track and field history Record. Mexico Marathon.With that adrenaline He crossed the finish line with his arms raised in the air and a fierce rhythm that forced him to smile constantly. He broke the record by over 2 minutes and was 30 seconds slower than the world champion in Budapest – although I didn’t know this detail at the time.

Haile Gebrselassie, one of the most important marathon runners in Ethiopian history, was surprised and delighted to find a photo with Hector after the medal ceremony. The two looked at each other with deep admiration in their eyes. Orphans from two generations, two continents, and two countries.

His victory and smile as he crossed the finish line inspired the entire country to believe that Bolivia was more than what we were going through. Garibai has become an example of courage, persistence and trust. This proves that in Bolivia the pride of representing yourself, loving yourself and being admired still exists.

Garibay of Windfoot proved that Bolivia has good people, with courage and discipline, and that Bolivia is more than just a movement for socialism.

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