Daniel Plaza Montero (born July 3, 1966 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish former race walker. Plaza is most famous for having won the 20 km walk at the 1992 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Spanish track & field athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
Plaza tested positive for the steroid nandrolone after the 1996 Spanish championships but denied taking it. He claimed the test result was due to prolonged oral sex with his pregnant wife (pregnant women may produce the steroid).
It took ten years, but in July 2006 he won a case to clear his name of a drugs ban. Spain's Supreme Court found in his favor after he took legal action over a two-year ban imposed by the Spanish Committee for Sporting Discipline.
He tested negative in further tests for the drug which normally takes three months to disappear from the system.
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Spain | |||||
1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 12th | 20 km | 1:21:53 |
1989 | World Race Walking Cup | L'Hospitalet, Spain | 11th | 20 km | 1:22:09 |
1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 2nd | 20 km | 1:22:22 |
1991 | World Race Walking Cup | San Jose, United States | 4th | 20 km | 1:21:00 |
1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | 20 km | 1:21:45 |
1993 | World Race Walking Cup | Monterrey, Mexico | 6th | 20 km | 1:24:52 |
World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 20 km | 1:23:18 | |
1996 | European Race Walking Cup | La Coruña, Spain | 2nd | 20 km | |
Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 11th | 20 km | 1:22:05 |
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