Liu and Wang continue dominance in Rome
07 Maggio 2016China won both women’s and men’s 20 km
China continued to dominate at the IAAF World Walking Race Championships in Rome by winning the third consecutive title of today with Wang Zhen, who beat his compatriot Cai Zelin and Alvaro Martin from Spain. Wang Zhen added the gold medal at this event to his collection which includes the Olympic bronze medal in London 2012, the silver medal in the 20 km at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu and the win in the IAAF World Cup in 2012. A leading group formed by World bronze medallist Zhen Wang and Cai Zelin from China, Benjamin Thorne from Canada, Andres Chocho from Ecuador, Christopher Linke of Germany and Australia’s Dane Bird-Smith and Alvaro Martin from Spain went through the 10 km mark in 48:28. Nine athletes remained in the leading group at 15 km. Zhen Wang increased his pace taking the lead ahead of Cai Zelin and Thorne, building up a seven-second gap over Cai Zelin. Thorne and Bird-Smith formed the chasing group. Zhen Wang pushed the pace increasing his lead to 14 seconds. Cai Zelin followed in second place with a gap of seven seconds over Thorne, Bird-Smith and Martin. Wang opened up a gap of 15 seconds over Cai Zein thanks to a 5 km split between the 10 and the 15 km. Zhen held on to cross the finish-line in 1:19:22 with a 12-second gap over Cai Zelin. Martin overtook Cai Zelin in the final kilometre but the Chinese walker counter-attacked to prevail in a hard-fought battle against the 21-year-old Spaniard in the final metres. Dane Bird-Smith improved his personal best by 26 seconds to finish fourth in 1:19:38.
“China is becoming a power of race walking. Our country has put more attention on our discipline. More people are getting involved in this sport. After a couple of weeks of recovery I will now prepare for Rio during a period of preparation in Livigno. I will compete once more in La Coruna before the Olympic Games”, said Zhen Wang. “I didn’t think that I had the right training to win a medal. We just thought this was a good chance to test our condition before the Olympic Games and it gives me confidence before Rio”, said Wang.
China won team gold over Canada and Ecuador.
Women’s 20 km senior race: Twice world champion and record holder Liu Hong completed the medal sweep for China by winning the fourth title of the first day. Liu Hong won this event for the first time in her career completing her collection of titles in big major competitions. After 5 km Liu Hong led a group of six athletes, which included also Maria Guadalupe Gonzales from Mexico, Qieyang Shenije from China, Eleonora Giorgi and Elisa Rigaudo from Italy, Erica De Sena from Brazil. Liu Hong increased her pace at 12 km and covered the 5 km split between the 10 and the 15 km in 21:09. The Chinese star passed the 15 km mark in 1:05:00 with a gap of 14 seconds over Gonzales and Qieyang, and of 20 seconds over Giorgi at 15 km. Liu Hong increased her gap in the final 5 km and went on to cross the finish-line in 1:25:59 with a gap of 19 seconds over Gonzales. Qieyang finished third in 1:26:49.
“I was always in front but I felt a bit nervous because I did not know if the others had more energy or if their rhythm could speed up. I had to keep turning to check then and keep up my speed”, said Liu Hong. Italian record holder Eleonora Giorgi fought hard with Gonzales for second place in the final 5 km. The Italian pushed hard in a desperate attempt to win a medal in front of her home fans but received the third red card with 500 metres to go when she was approching the Nando Martellini Stadium in the Baths of Caracalla. The best Italian walker was 2008 Olympic bronze medallist and 2011 World Championships bronze Elisa Rigaudo, who crossed the finish-line in fifth place in 1:28:03 behind Brazilian De Sena, who set the South American record in 1:27:18. In team ranking, China was ahead of Australia and Colombia.
The programme – The programme features five competitions. Each race will determine the team ranking: the two 10 km junior walking races and the two 20 km races will be held on Saturday 7th May, the 50 km walking race will take place on Sunday 8th May.
Sunday 8th May 9.00 50 km
SEGUICI SU: Twitter: @atleticaitalia | Facebook: www.facebook.com/fidal.it
| Condividi con | Tweet |
|
Seguici su: |