DPA
Paris
Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador and China’s Yang Jiayu won 20 kilometre race walks as the athletics events promising plenty of fireworks started at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
The 35 km world championship runner-up Pintado prevailed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with a late surge, 14 seconds ahead of Brazilian Caio Bonfim.
World champion Álvaro Martin of Spain took bronze ahead of the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Massimo Stano of Italy.
Pintado emulates Perez Pintado is the second 20 km gold medallist from Ecuador, after famous countryman Jefferson Perez did it in 1996. Perez also won three world titles, the first one also coming in Paris, in 2003.
“I have competed in three Olympic Games, and now I’m an Olympic champion. It’s a dream come true,” Pintado said.
“It was insane. In the last few metres, I realised I was completely alone, and seeing the finish line I just kept thinking, I’m the Olympic champion, it’s me.” Yang rules women’s race The start of the first athletics final at the Paris Games was delayed by half an hour due to a thunderstorm. As a result, the following women’s race also started later.
World record holder Yang led from start to finish for a comprehensive victory 25 seconds ahead of Spain’s world champion Maria Perez.
Jemima Montag took bronze for Australia, another six seconds back.
Tokyo winner Antonella Palmisano of Italy retired after 13 km.
Lyles aims for sprint treble The track and field events start on Friday at the Stade de France which also hosted the world championships in 2003.
American sprinter Noah Lyles aims for a 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble he achieved at last year’s worlds, trying to make up for having to settle for 200m bronze inn Tokyo.
“The last Olympics didn’t go to plan. But (this time) I am showing up to an Olympic Games not depressed. And it feels amazing. A lot of joy,” he said earlier in the week.
“Here I am, stronger than before. And when Noah Lyles is being Noah Lyles, there is nobody else.” Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen aims to emulate World Athletics president Sebastian Coe with back-to-back 1,500m gold and will also contest the 5,000.
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis is expected to be in a league of his own again.
Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge seeks a historic third straight marathon gold in the city where his career took off with 5,000m gold at the 2003 worlds.
400m hurdles expected to be epic again Norway’s Carsten Warholm faces another epic 400m hurdles duel with American Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos.
The women’s race promises the same between American great Sydney McLaughlin-Levron and her Dutch challenger Femke Bol, who has moved within three-tenth of McLaughlin-Levron’s world record.
“I am excited for Paris and of course ready to put on my best race, I am looking forward to racing Sydney - that will push us both. Sydney is the clear favourite, but I will be ready for it,” Bol vowed.
Sprint rivalry and Hassan’s marathon programme The blue riband 100m pits American world champion Sha’carri Richardson against Jamaica rivals led by the eternal “pocket rocket” Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 2008 and 2012 gold medallists.
World champion Yaroslava Mahuchnikh seeks glory for herself and the whole of war-torn Ukraine in the women’s high jump where she recently bettered the world record to 2.10m at another venue in Paris.
Dutch runner Sifan Hassan has the most ambitious programme as she is listed for the women’s 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon which concludes the Olympic programme on August 11.
