Sport|Athletics World Championships
Led by Kimberly García León, the medal trio in the 35-kilometer walk was the same as in the 20-kilometer race.
Medical doctoral dissertation in the spring Elisa Neuvonen walked a new Finnish record of 35 kilometers on Friday in Eugene, USA.
The 31-year-old Neuvonen placed 20th in the sport that was on the program of the World Championships for the first time with a time of 2:57:42.
“It went better than I expected. There must have been so much excitement in the air and the heart rates were also high in the morning, but the speed of the trip was faster than the goal and it stayed there,” Neuvonen recounted in an interview with Yle.
According to Neuvonen, the strains of the trip started to feel in the legs after 25 kilometers. The last two kilometers were a real battle, ending in another SE time.
“The conditions were great,” said the happy athlete.
Tiia Kuika’s competition ended in disappointment. He was disqualified in the 35 km race.
Former Finnish record holder Tiia Kuikka disqualified after the fourth warning. Before that, he suffered a three and a half minute “freeze” from three warnings.
27-year-old Kuika’s preparation went under the bench due to illness.
“Perhaps it backfired on the technical side, that there were many days in my own room only. It probably lost a bit of energy for the legs,” Kuikka said in an interview with Yle.
Jo Kuika’s return to being a competitive athlete is a small miracle and proof of persistent work. He was seriously injured during his training run in 2019 after being run over by a car.
Kuikka came up with no other reason for his warnings than being sick. He said that he got better and more confident in his technique.
“Yes, of course it hurts and is a disappointed feeling”, Kuikka said about his rejection.
Peru’s Kimberly García León also won the 35 km world championship.
WC gold won like a 20 kilometer race Kimberly García León. The 28-year-old Peruvian became a double champion with a new South American record time of 2:39:16.
“I’ve always dreamed of making history in a sport I’ve been passionate about since I was five years old,” García León said, according to Reuters news agency.
“My plan was to walk at a steady pace until 20 kilometers and gradually pick up the pace after that. I succeeded in that today.”
The medal trio of the entire 35 km race arrived at the finish line in the same order as in the 20 km race. Polish Katarzyna Zdziebło walked silver and china Qieyang Shijie bronze.
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