By AA Correspondent
Yang Jiayu jumped into an early lead and sustained it through 20 gruelling kilometres to regain for China the racewalking title against the stiff challenge of global achievers as the athletics action opened in the Paris Olympics on Thursday (Aug 1).
Yang, herself a former World champion in 2017, was not so much talked about before the Games began as those from Europe and Latin America, though she is the world-record holder in the event and was joint world leader for the season with team-mate Ma Zhenxia at 1:26:07.
In the event, Yang took off between the fifth and sixth kilometres to build up a gap that was only threatened during the last 7km by Spain’s reigning world champion Maria Perez. Perez finished second, 25 seconds behind to the 28-year-old Chinese.
In high humidity and moderate temperatures, the 20km took off at the Pont d’lena and around river Seine and under the iconic Eiffel Tower, with the favourites leading the way.
At the head of the pack were Yang and her team-mate Ma Zhenxia, Perez, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia, the 2022 World champion, and defending Olympic champion Antonella Palmisano of Italy. Keeping them company, among others, was Jemima Montag, 2023 World championship silver medallist, and always a tough opponent who was in great form this season. The Australian finished third this time with an Area record of 1:26:25 that bettered her own record of 1:27:09 set in Adelaide earlier this season.
The surprise early pace of Yang seemed to have rattled the rest, for, no one else tried to keep pace with the Chinese. Such was Yang’s pace that she had a six-second lead by the 6km mark and widened it to 44 seconds by the 13th. The chasing pack comprised seven athletes.
However, as Yang coasted along the one-kilometre loop, Perez seemed to be biding her time. The world champion in Budapest, made her move after 13km and came 20-second close to the Chinese by the 16th. But Yang was determined not give away the advantage she had built so bravely.
“Tokyo was very tricky for me, so I worked very hard to come back and get the best result in Paris,” said Yang.
It was a vast improvement on her 12th place finish in Tokyo as Yang took the gold, waving to the flag-waving Chinese followers once she ensured victory.
No matter how much she tried towards the closing stages, Perez could not catch up. Yang found a second wind over the final two laps and romped home in a season best 1:25:54. Perez took the silver in 1:26:19, also a season best.
Ma Zhenxia, who was always in contention for a medal, got her third red card on the 18th kilometre and had to take a “pit stop” of two minutes. She finished 11th in 1:29:15.
Veteran Liu Hong, in her fifth straight Olympics, ended up 21st in 1:31:24. The 37-year-old Chinese was never in contention after the start, but she has an enviable record in the Chinese racewalking history.
It was Liu Hong who won China’s last Olympic title in 2016. With today’s gold, China has four titles in the event.
Of the rest of the star-studded pack, Olympic champion Antonella Palmisano did not finish. So did Australian Olivia Sandery. Japan’s Nanako Fuji came 32nd while India’s Priyanka Goswami who was 17th in Tokyo was off-colour this time and ended at the 41st spot among 43 finishers.
The men’s 20km walk title went to Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado in 1:18.55. Silver medallist in 35km at the last World championship, Pintado was a surprise winner after having remained in the lead pack till he broke off on the last lap from Brazilian Caio Bonfim, silver medallist in the Tokyo Olympics.
In the end, Pintado finished 14 seconds ahead of the Brazilian. The Ecuadorian let out a cry of jubilation as he breasted the tape, somewhat surprised that he was the Olympic champion in such a field. It was Ecuador’s first Olympic gold in athletics since Jefferson Perez won the walk title in 1996.
“In the last few metres, I realised I was completely alone, and seeing the finish line I just kept thinking, ‘I’m the Olympic champion, it’s me,” said Pintado.
Till the 18th kilometre, Japan’s Koki Ikeda and Yuta Koga and Chinese Zhang Jun looked to be in contention for a medal. But after that the race developed into a fight for the top three places among Pintado, Bonfim and Spaniard Alvaro Martin, the World champion.
In the last lap, Pintado built up a lead that the Brazilian tried to bridge but, in the end, it proved beyond someone who was already on two red cards.
Martin finished third 1:19:11, just two seconds off Bonfim, while Massimo Stano, the Olympic champion missed a medal by a mere second.
Ikeda, the season leader, was seventh in 1:19:4 while Koga, his team-mate finished just a place behind him in 1:119:50. Zhang Jun was 10th with 1:19:56.
Ryo Hamanishi of Japan was 18th in 1:20:33. The Indians finished poorly, with Vikash Singh 30th and Paramjeet Bisht 37th. The national record holder Akshdeep Singh did not finish.
