My Profile – Wílmer Talledo “Romario”

The victories and the effort of an athlete seem not to care anybody.

 

Interview by Estany Tineo Alvarado

 

 

We meet this athlete somewhere Malingas Community, Tambogrande District (Piura, Peru), whom almost no one knows his real name but his alias that reminds a reknown Brazilian soccer player who consegrated mid-1990s.

 

Your full name?

Wílmer Oscar Talledo  Sunción.

 

What sport do you do?

I do athletics and I like to play soccer very much.

 

How old were you when began to do athletics?

I Began when I was 15 years old to participate in international, national, and local competitions.

 

What benefits did you bring to do those sports?

I liked to run for the first time an seing the marathon in-depth because I didn’t know what it was in-depth, and I began to work out physically alone at the beach, into the sea water, working out in hills, lanes, sometimes I did biking for strengthening legs so going to contest in any kind of marathon, in Piura City’s festivities, Lima’s RPP, and many marathon in Lima City.

 

Have you ever won any marathon you participated in, or did you get any place?

Yes, I have. I was invited to Loja, Machala, Arenillas [in Ecuador], and I ever put my face for our Peru and I ever have got one of the first places.

 

What sport would you recommend to the youth?Only athletics, or any other sport?

No, I wouldn’t. For sure, I’d say the youth, especially the children, to do sports. Much now when too much vice is seen like alcoholism, it’spretty to do sports – still prettiest to do athletics that is running marathon for 42, 21, or 15 km [26, 13, or  9 miles]. Also do basket, marathon, and biking.

 

Is there any institution or kind of people who sponsor your tickets, or do you only use your own funds to participate in this spor?

When I knock at doors, some open and others close. Some people say me rudeness – that I work, that I’m too grown up, that have it from my pocket. But at this moment, with the economic crisis of Peru, I can’t go out to participate anywhere because I don’t have any company that sponsors me. I request the companies to support me, that is pretty an athlete goes to participate somewhere and bring on the third, second, or first place, because those are good places.

 

Would you like to have an athletics school to promote new talents or not?

I’d like to start up my athletics school here in Malingas, but everything is in coordination, I gotta do activities for fundraising, for implementing an athlete. For example as an athlete, I didn’t run with sports shoes as they’re special for athletes. I ran bare feet. I was ashamed to go participating into a competition because I had no sports shoes. Some runners wearing pretty sport shoes, and I said – what a beautiful sports shoes, although they were not at my speed level in runs because I have a huge resistance. I believe God has signed my way so, and I don’t have the sponsorship to go running abroad like the best runners from Huancayo [Peruvian Central].

 

What do you do?

I wwake up at 4:00 in the morning and carry water on my tricycle. I funded it with money from a non-profit investor. It’s not much worthy but the money comes from it to pay to the non-profit investor, then they make me another loan, so I have bucks, and I get from itself to trip to my competitions because I don’t have somebody who sponsors me, but thanks to engineer Johnny Román who is goin to sponsor me with a little. I thank engineer Johnny Román.

 

Thanks, Romario, although after this interview, we knew he had to sell his tricycle..

 

Translated by Nelson Peñaherrera.