Gold for Ecuador in men's 20km walk
Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador won the first track and field athletics gold of the Paris Olympics when he won the men’s 20km race walk.
After the race was delayed by half an hour due to an overnight thunderstorm, he surged clear in the final kilometre to beat Caio Bonfim of Brazil and world champion Alvaro Martin of Spain in 78:55 – just missing Chen Ding’s Olympic record of 78:46.
Massimo Stano of Italy, the reigning Olympic and 2022 world champion, finished fourth in 79:12, just ahead of Canada's Evan Dunfee.
Pintado, 29, let out a scream of joy after crossing the finish line. He won silver over 35km at the World Championships last year but is now a global champion for the first time.
“I have competed in three Olympic Games and now I'm an Olympic champion. It's a dream come true,” he said.
"It was insane. 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."
A former footballer and distance runner, caches saw his potential for race walking in 2007 and he made the switch after winning the 2008 South American School Games.
He later placed 37th at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 12th at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
His victory means he follows in the footsteps of fellow Ecuador race walker Jefferson Perez who won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 and three world titles at the turn of the millennium.
READ MORE: Alex Yee wins Olympic triathlon title
Britain’s Callum Wilkinson finished a fine 16th in 80:31 – just outside his PB in warm, muggy conditions and after recovering from a calf injury at the start of the year.
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