Beijing - Exhausted, almost numb, Jefferson Perez brought an end on Saturday to a career whose spirit went beyond the borders of his native Ecuador to turn him into a Latin American hero.

"Jefferson is the perfect athlete as regards racewalking," said his Russian rival Valery Borchin.

It was Borchin, 21, who demoted Perez, 34, to silver in the last international race of his career.

The Ecuadorian recalled that 12 years ago it was he who beat another Russian, Ilya Markov, in the final kilometres of the 20- kilometre walk at the Atlanta Olympics. There, at age 22, Perez obtained the first Olympic gold, indeed the first Olympic medal, in the history of Ecuador.

His Olympic cycle ended Saturday with a silver medal in Beijing. Another Russian, many years younger, prevented Perez from bidding farewell to high-performance sport from the top of the podium.

"I thank God for being able to be at my fifth Olympics and to end my sporting career this way," the Ecuadorian said after the race.

From now on, he might compete locally, at South American level, but there will be no World Championships, World Cups or Olympic Games.

Three World Championship titles (2003, 2005, 2007) and the only two Olympic medals in his country's history were enough for this man of humble origins who made his way in life through athletics.

Fourth in Athens 2004, Perez imposed his rule in the World Championships in Paris, Helsinki and Osaka, where his small-built body, 1.67 metres tall, became gigantic with every stride.

Born in the city of Cuenca, in the Azuay region of Ecuador, Perez started to help out his mother in the market as a child. While she kept her stall, he sold newspapers.

When he talks about his life - which he does not like to do very often - he says walking while carrying bundles of newspapers led him to gain strength and stamina.

Since coach Manuel Ortiz discovered him at school, Perez always kept to himself. After the Atlanta Games, where he was coached by Colombian Enrique Pena, his only adviser has been Ortiz, and the athlete has managed his own training with the lone supervision of his doctor.

Now Perez will tackle a new life. While he has been tempted to go into politics several times, he prefers business for now: he has a company representing sportsmen in which he is integrating Ecuadorian athletes.