by Alfonz Juck
The first day of the World Athletics Race Walking team championships was held in Muscat, Oman today, Friday, March 4, 2022. This is an update from EME News on the first day of the competition.
China dominated
MUSCAT (OMA, March 4): China dominated the opening day of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships. They took all three team and individual golds and six individual medals in total. In temperatures of up to 27C, Ma Zhenxia pulled away from world record-holder Yang Jiayu over the last 5km of the senior women’s 20km to clock 1:30:22. Ma, the former world U20 and U18 champion, went through halfway in 44:57 as part of the leading group of three (1:31:54 to 1:32:27). A fading Yang managed to stay ahead of Peru’s Kimberly Garcia Leon for silver. The best European was Antigoni Ntrismpioti from Greece as 6th 1:34:54. Greece and India took second and third behind China.
Wang Hongren won an eventful U20 men’s race. India’s world U20 silver medallist Amit Kakhri went into the lead in the final kilometer but, 100m from the end, suffered a DQ. Wang was the benefactor as he crossed the line at 44:06. Italy’s world junior champion Diego Giampaolo won silver in 44:18, just pipping China’s Yu Zheng. Kenya’s world junior champion Heristone Wanyoni had been in medal contention in the closing stages but was handed a 60-second penalty. Italy took silver and Spain bronze. In the U20 women’s 10km, Jiang Yunyan moved clear in the eighth kilometer to win in 47:48. Fellow Chinese Jiang Jinyan overtook Finland’s Heta Veikkola for silver as they clocked 48:03 and 48:11 respectively. Behind China, Australia, and Spain took silver and bronze.
