Ecuador’s Brian Pintado and China’s Yang Jiayu became the first athletics champions of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday (1 August), winning the 20km race walk events against a backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

Pintado clocked 1:18:55 to earn his country’s first Olympic gold medal in athletics since fellow race walker Jefferson Perez won the title in this discipline at the 1996 Olympics. Brazil’s Caio Bonfim took silver and Spain’s Alvaro Martin earned bronze.

Yang won her title in 1:25:54, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Spain’s Maria Perez, and Australia’s Jemima Montag claimed bronze. The women’s 20km race walk has been held seven times at the Olympic Games and Yang’s performance secured a fourth title in the event for China.

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