China's Yang Jiayu celebrating after winning the women's 20km race walk of athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on Thursday — Xinhua PARIS, Aug 01 (Xinhua): World record holder Yang Jiayu claimed the first athletics gold for China at the Paris Olympics, winning the women's 20km race walk in one hour, 25 minutes and 54 seconds on Thursday.
Yang, who finished 12th at Tokyo 2020, led the race almost from the start and crossed the line with a 25-second advantage over second-placed Maria Perez of Spain. The bronze medal was grabbed by Jemima Montag from Australia.
Two other Chinese athletes, Ma Zhenxia and Liu Hong, finished 11th and 21st respectively.
It is China's fourth Olympic gold medal in women's 20km race walk. Yang's best performance this season also earned China its 11th gold medal in Paris.
"It is an exciting moment for me. I have been waiting for this gold medal for eight years," said 28-year-old Yang after the game.
"I started my Olympic journey as a substitute in 2016," she added. "At that moment, I started to dream of being a regular athlete to compete at this stage even to fight for the gold."
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