By JIM MORRIS -- Canadian Press
 Arturo Huerta is a man who is always on the move.

 Recently, he was in New York shooting a television commercial for his employer, Home Depot. He then returned to Toronto briefly to visit his wife and two sons, then was off to Mexico to train.

 Huerta is a man on the move with his destination Sydney and his goal an Olympic medal. Being Canada's best race walker, and the holder several Canadian records, brings Huerta about as much fame and recognition in his adopted country as being the best hockey player in his native Mexico.

 For most North Americans, race walking is one of those peculiar sports that rates about 30 seconds of television highlights once every four years. It's physical demands and daunting technique are often overlooked in an activity where people look like they are walking with a ferret dropped down the front of their shorts.

 It's that anonymity that attracted Huerta.

 "It was the challenge to stick with a sport even though people would laugh and not take it seriously," he said in a telephone interview.

 "I thought it was a good challenge, that I would grow in some way."

 For Huerta growing up in Mexico City, seeing race walkers cruising the streets and back roads was as common a sight as Canadian kids slapping a puck around neighbourhood rinks.

 As a youngster, Huerta played soccer and basketball. His athletic endeavours were put on hold when he moved to Canada and dedicated himself to supporting his family.

 It wasn't until 1992, when the 28-year-old Huerta met some race walkers, he decided this was the sport that offered him a road to the Olympics.

 "The sport seemed to suit my lifestyle because I was working long hours. I could train on my own time," he said.

 "I was looking for something that would help me feel I was doing something for myself and I was growing and exploring new ground. I said I'd rather try and see how far I can go than spend the rest of my life saying I should have tried."

 Starting late actually was an advantage.

 "You need time to learn to be patient, pace yourself, something the younger people seem to lack," said Huerta, 36.

 "They seem to want things a little faster. I started late but I knew exactly what I wanted. If I had started younger, l probably would have given it up earlier."

 Huerta became a Canadian citizen in 1996. Later that year he represented his new country at the Atlanta Olympics, finishing 42nd in the 20-kilometre race.

 At Sydney, he plans to race in both the 20 and 50-kilometre events.

 "I have never been in the situation where I have a week to recover from one race," he said.

 "I've been testing myself, my body has reacted very well. I will be well prepared."

 Huerta said he's matured and gained valuable experience since the last Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 20-kilometre event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia and was fifth at last year's Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

 "I have learned a lot," he said.

 "I'm calm, relaxed. I don't panic any more. I know who the competition is. Things seem to be under control."

 The world's race-walking powers are Mexico, Russia, Italy, Germany and China. After finishing 10th in a World Cup event last year, Huerta has set his sights on a medal in the 20-kilometre event.

 "I cannot look back," he said.

 "I have to look forward and aim to win."