Double world champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez in Budapest (© Getty Images)
A 22-strong Spanish squad including double world champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez has been named for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24 taking place on 21 April.
Spanish athletes have been entered for each of the five events being held in the Turkish city, with three teams selected for the marathon race walk mixed relay.
The relay involves teams of one male and one female athlete, who will complete the marathon distance in four legs of approximately equal distance.
While the exact pairs are yet to be announced, the six Spanish athletes named for the mixed relay are Martin and Perez, who both won world 20km and 35km race walk gold in Budapest last year, together with European 20km race walk fourth-place finisher Alberto Amezcua, 2022 world 35km race walk sixth-place finisher Laura Garcia-Caro, 2015 world 20km race walk champion Miguel Angel Lopez and world 25km race walk fifth-place finisher Cristina Montesinos.
The first 22 teams to finish in Antalya will automatically qualify for the marathon race walk mixed relay at the Olympic Games in Paris. Up to five of those first 22 teams can be a second team from the same country, so Spain will be looking for a strong performance in Antalya to secure two relay spots for the Olympics.
The men’s 20km team for Antalya features national champion Paul McGrath and two-time European Championships medallist Diego García Carrera, while the women’s squad includes European 35km silver medallist Raquel Gonzalez, who is set to make her fifth World Race Walking Team Championships appearance.
Spanish team for Antalya
Women
20km: Antia Chamosa, Raquel Gonzalez, Paula Juarez, Lucia Redondo, Lidia Sanchez-Puebla
U20 10km: Aldara Meilan, Sofia Santacreu, Griselda Serret
Men
20km: Diego Garcia Carrera, Alvaro Lopez, Ivan Lopez, Paul McGrath, Marc Tur
U20 10km: Miguel Espinosa, Daniel Monfort, Daniel Morilla
Mixed
Team relay: Alberto Amezcua, Laura Garcia-Caro, Miguel Angel Lopez, Alvaro Martin, Cristina Montesinos, Maria Perez
