World record-holder from China built a big lead over her rivals to take victory on Thursday

Yang Jiayu produced a masterclass of race walking as she took women’s 20km gold for China on Thursday (Aug 1).

Leading most of the way on a warm morning in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the 28-year-old built a sizeable lead and held on to win by 25 seconds in 85:54 as reigning world champion Maria Perez of Spain took silver and Jemima Montag, the two-time Commonwealth champion from Australia, earned bronze in an Oceania record of 86:25.

Yang said: "Tokyo was very tricky for me, so I worked very hard to come back and get the best results in Paris."

Yang placed 12^th in Tokyo but in Paris claimed her second global gold as she had taken victory at the World Championships in London back in 2017.

Yang's father died in 2015 and she said: "I never mentioned this before but I promised him I would win gold. Now I have finally done it, I am very proud of myself."

In fourth on Thursday, Lorena Arenas set a Colombian record of 87:03.

READ MORE: Men's 20km walks gold goes to Ecuador

This is an event in particular where the absence of Russia is keenly felt but Yang will go down as a worthy champion as she holds the world record right now with 83:49 from 2021.

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