Gold medallist Yang Jiayu of China celebrates on the podium during the venue ceremony with silver medallist Maria Perez of Spain and bronze medallist Jemima Montag of Australia.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
China’s Yang Jiayu produced a dominant performance to win the women’s 20 kilometres walk Olympic title in Paris on Thursday.
The 28-year-old world record holder timed 1 hour 25 minutes 14 seconds coming home clear of Spain’s Maria Perez (1:26:19) with Jemima Montag of Australia taking the bronze (1:26:25).
Yang is the fourth Chinese woman to win the Olympic title in the seven times it has featured at the Games.
The race was delayed half an hour due to a thunderstorm but once they started, Yang seized control as temperatures soared.
The 2017 world champion was always in command as the 20-lap race wound its way through Paris along the banks of the Seine and sweeping past landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero.
Yang Jiayu at the 8km mark had opened up a 13 second lead on a group of 11 including Commonwealth Games champion Montag and defending champion Antonella Palmisano.
She had extended it to 40sec with eight kilometres remaining, her only concern having been given a warning.
However, three kilometres later perhaps due to the heat and her early effort the lead was down to half a minute — Spain’s two-time world champion Perez going in hot pursuit.
Perez, fourth in the Tokyo Games, was in top gear as she took a further 10 seconds off Yang’s lead in one kilometre.
The Chinese woman, a towel tied round her neck to absorb the sweat, managed to stabilise the situation maintaining her 20sec lead after the next lap.
Montag broke free of a group of three at the 17 kilometre mark to move into third.
With two laps to go, Yang’s lead was just 15sec over Perez with Montag a further 11sec adrift.
Both the front two took off their caps to pour water over their heads and drank from the water bottles at the water stations — Yang dispensing with the towel round her neck.
Yang’s lead at the bell was 17sec and it was Montag who was threatening Perez for silver as she was just five sec off the Spaniard.
Yang sauntered to the line in the end untroubled, while Perez had ditched her cap and hung on as Montag, world silver last year, settled for an impressive third.
