Muscat, Mar 4
Chinese walkers Wang Hongren and Jiang Yunyan claimed the opening race spoils in the men’s and women’s U-20 10km competitions on day one of the World Athletics World Race Walking Team Championships, here on Friday.
Although Wang won the race, he was struggling to keep up in the top three about 100 metres before the finish line. It was India’s Amit Khatri who was in the gold medal winning position lost the momentum in the dying stages along with World U-20 champion Heristone Wanyonyi of Kenya.
The Chinese duo of Wang and Zeng Yu pulled ahead of Khatri and Wanyonyi to clinch the spoils.
In an event that had its own ebbs and flows with the temperature steadily rising, Jaromir Moravek shot away from the start with Christiaan Bester from South Africa, head tilted, in close order with the rest strung out in a line across the road.
The first kilometre got a timing of 4:25 but Bester was reached by the Czech walker before the end of the first two kilometre loop in 9:08. Sajan Irincheev of Finland was on his heels but the rest of the pack were taking their time although Moravek got to halfway in 23:07.
YUNYAN WINS
Before the start of the women’s U-20 10km event, there was a ‘Moment for Ukraine’ in solidarity with the war happening there due to Russian invasion.
Several athletes held up the Ukrainian flag while the World Athletics President Sebastian Coe laid down a bouquet of blue and gold flowers.
Valeriya Sholomitska, the lone Ukrainian entrant in Muscat, had an emotional moment shedding tears before composing herself and taking position at the start line.
The race started off at a steady pace with the temperatures hotting up and the first kilometre was covered in 5:07 as athletes got a feel of the situation.
The two-kilometre loop, which is one of the most challenging circuits of the World Race Walking Team Championships, has a 27-metre difference between the highest and lowest points.
The Oman Athletics Association (OAA) joined World Athletics as a signatory of the United Nations Climate Change Sports for Climate Action Framework, underlining sport’s commitment to fight against climate change.
The OAA President Shaikh Salim al Amri made the commitment at a ceremony at Al Haid North Beach in Muscat where athletes from several countries competing at WRW22 took part in a beach clean up.
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