| Brian Pintado | |
| Birth Date: | 29 July 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Cuenca, Ecuador |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Racewalking |
Brian Daniel Pintado Álvarez (born 29 July 1995 in Cuenca) is an Ecuadorian racewalker, two-time Pan American Games champion and two-time Olympic Medallist.[1]
Daniel was born on 29 July 1995 in Cuenca to Fausto Pintado and Eulalia Álvarez. He was a sporty child, playing football and distance running. He made the switch to race walking at 11 years old and went on to win the 2008 South American School Games.[2]
His debut as an adult was in 2013 at the Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior em Marcha Atlética in Rio Maior, Portugal. He finished 10th in the 20km race walk.
He is married to Karen Palaguachi and has a son, Daniel Nicolas (born 2014) and a daughter, Montserrath (born 2020). His brother-in-law, Claudio Villanueva is also a race walker, who won the 2019 Pan American Games 50km race walk.
He competed in the men's 20 km walk at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing in 37th place with a time of 1:23:44.[3]
He represented Ecuador again at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokio[4] finishing 12th at the Men's 20km Race Walk with a time of 1:22:54.[5]
On 6 June 2024, the Ecuadorian National Olympic Committee named Pintado and weightlifter Neisi Dajomes as the official flag bearers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.[6] He trained with Andrés Chocho in Cuenca for the Olympics and abroad since April 2024.[7]
He won the gold medal in the men's 20 kilometres walk at the 2024 Summer Olympics with a time of 1:18:55,[8] only 9 seconds behind the Olympic record established in the 2012 Summer Olympics by Chen Ding. He became the second Ecuadorian athlete to win gold in this race after Jefferson Perez at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
He won the silver medal at the Marathon Race Walk Relay Mixed at the 2024 Summer Olympics together with Glenda Morejón. [9]