) is a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 former race walker

Race walking

Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance athletic event. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times...

. Plaza is most famous for having won the 20 km walk at the 1992 Summer Olympics

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

, becoming the first Spanish track & field athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal.

Plaza tested positive for the steroid nandrolone

Nandrolone

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester...

 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.

Achievements

Representing
1988	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul a total number of 42 events in athletics were contested: 24 by men and 18 by women. There were a total number of 1617 participating athletes from 149 countries.-Men's events:...	Seoul, South Korea	12th	20 km Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Men's 20 km walk The Men's 20 km Race Walk event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entrylist of 53 competitors. Three athletes were disqualified, while one walker did not finish the race...	1:21:53
1989	World Race Walking Cup 1989 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1989 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 27 and 28 May 1989 in the streets of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.-Medallists:-Men's 20 km:* 20th place missing from results reference.-Men's 50 km:-Women's 10 km:...	L'Hospitalet L'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat or briefly L'Hospitalet is a city to the immediate southwest of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and the second largest in Catalonia by population... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	11th	20 km	1:22:09
1990	European Championships 1990 European Championships in Athletics The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, a city in Croatia .It was the last participation of East Germany ....	Split Split (city) Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and... , Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....	2nd	20 km 1990 European Championships in Athletics - Men's 20 km Walk These are the official results of the Men's 20 km walk event at the 1990 European Championships in Split, Yugoslavia. There were a total number of 22 participating athletes, who finished the race.-Medalists:-Final:-See also:...	1:22:22
1991	World Race Walking Cup 1991 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1991 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 1 and 2 June 1991 in the streets of San Jose, California, USA.-Medallists:-Men's 20 km:-Men's 50 km:* 15th place missing from results reference.-Women's 10 km:-References:* - IAAF.org...	San Jose San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... , United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	4th	20 km	1:21:00
1992	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders...	Barcelona, Spain	1st	20 km	1:21:45
1993	World Race Walking Cup 1993 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1993 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 24 and 25 April 1993 in the streets of Monterrey, Mexico.-Medallists:-Men's 20 km:-Men's 50 km:-Women's 10 km:* 15th place missing from results reference.-References:* - IAAF.org...	Monterrey, Mexico	6th	20 km	1:24:52
	World Championships 1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	20 km	1:23:18
1996	European Race Walking Cup European Race Walking Cup The European Race Walking Cup is a race walking event established in 1996, and organised by the European Athletic Association. In 1996, the team scores were calculated by aggregating the points awarded to the first three finishers...	La Coruña, Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	2nd	20 km
	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...	Atlanta, United States Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...	11th	20 km Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's 20 km walk These are the official results of the Men's 20 km Walk event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:*All times shown are in hours:minutes:seconds-Records:-Results:-See also:...	1:22:05