BARRONDO Erick Bernabe

General
EARLY DAYS
He admits he went into the 2012 Olympic Games in London without having full knowledge about the discipline of race walking. He went on to win a silver medal in London, which was Guatemala's first Olympic medal in any sport. "We had a coach that simply said to us, 'Just start moving'. He never explained the rules or the technique to us. When we arrived in London with the team we didn't even know 20% of the rules. We developed under the motto, 'Practice makes perfect'. When [Polish coach] Bohdan Bulakowski came to Guatemala we learned a great deal about our sport. This helped us avoid disqualifications based on technical mistakes." (dw.com, 20 May 2015; SportsDeskOnline, 23 Jun 2021)

ROLE MODEL
He believes his silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London helped inspire more young people to take up sport in Guatemala. "After my medal, many kids realised that sports is a door to get out of poverty. They say, 'If Erick dared, I also want to dare'. I will feel like the happiest man in the world if tomorrow a Guatemalan leaves a gun or a knife and goes to the stadium to put on some tennis shoes and start playing sports." (tokyo2020.org, 02 Jun 2020)

BUSINESS VENTURE
In 2020 he launched his own brand of coffee beans named 'EB'. The coffee has been sold in both the United States of America and Guatemala. He also began selling sports apparel under the same brand. (ebarrondo.com, 2021; guatevision.com, 14 Sep 2020)

SOCIAL COMMITMENT
He has been involved in supporting low-income families in Guatemala. He has helped to donate food and supplies to people affected by natural disasters, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. (guatemala.com, 08 Nov 2020)

He became the first athlete representing Guatemala to win a medal in any sport at the Olympic Games, when he claimed silver in the 20km walk at the 2012 Games in London. (IAAF, 30 Apr 2014; SportsDeskOnline, 23 Jun 2021)