Ecuadorian veteran Jefferson Perez is on a misssion to make history as he plans to become the first man to win three successive 20km walk titles. The 33-year-old South American lifted his first global title back at the 1996 Olympics before setting a world record en route to winning the World Championships in Paris and Helsinki.

Italian Maurizio Damilano was World 20km walk champion in 1987 and 1991 but Perez could yet better that statistic. Perez’s first 20km outing of the season ended in disappointment when he finished sixth in Shenzen although he has since registered notable victories at both the Pan American Cup and Pan American Games.

There will be two other former world champions in the line up – 1997 gold medallist Daniel Garcia of Mexico and Russia’s 1999 winner Ilya Markov.

Garcia is some way short of his best this season, after two modest 20km outings. But Markov, 35, appears closer to the pace with a best time of 1:18:50 placing him fourth on the world list, one step behind his Russian team-mate, the European silver medallist Valery Borchin who could be another danger.

Two-time European 10km champion Francisco Fernandez also looks a major threat. The Spaniard has won eight of his ten starts this season and significantly defeated Perez to win in Shenzen.

Watch out also for rising Chinese star 18-year-old Li Gaobo, who stands sixth in the 2007 world lists with a season’s best of 1:19:03.

The European 50km champion, France’s Yohan Diniz, is another who could feature in the medal hunt.