Seventy-four athletes at the start
first 5 km
It stops almost immediately Neringa Aidietyte (LTU) probably for a recurrence of an injury.
Split time at 2 km in 9:15, but they are 20. Leads the pack Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez.
Switching to 4 km in 18:28, and are always in 20.
Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez, Liu Hong, Lu Xiuzhi, Qieyang Shenjie, Elisa Rigaudo, Anezka Drahotova, Erica De Sena are leading the pack.
from 5 km to 10 km
Lu Xiuzhi leading at 6km, 27:26, with Drahatova, one second behind. Leading pack are 15 more or less.
Split time to 8 km in 36:25. Help Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez assierme to Liu Hong forcing the pace.
Four athletes were DE'ed: Yahualeye Beletew (KEN), Daseul Lee (KOR), Jeong Eun Lee (KOR), Polina Repina (KAZ).
Eleonora Giorgisuffers one red card.
Half race: Liu Hong leads the pack 45:24 but there are in eight including two Italians Giorgi and Palmisano.
from 10 km to 15 km
Mayra Carolina Herrera (GUA) were DQed before 12° km.
At 12 km leads Lu, Liu, and Gonzalez in 54:11.
Shortly Eleonora Gioirgi riceve la seconda red card followed immediately by third red: DQ'ed.
They are seven to the 14 km mark covered in 1:03:01. Leads Qieyang Shenjie.
last 5 km
Erica De Sena has two red cards.
To 16 km are five pass in 1:11:43: Qieyang Shenjie, Liu Hong, Lu Xiuxhi, Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez and Antonella Palmisano.
Lu Xiuxhi received a red card.
Remain in three: Liu Hong, Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez and Lu Xiuzhi.
Antonella Palmisano now is fourth.
Leaders passes at 18 km in 1:20:24.
The race ends with two sprints: the one for gold which sees the victory of Liu Hong (1:28:35) on Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez (1:28:37).
Third arrives Lu Xiuzhi (1:28:42).
Second sprint for fourth place and Antonella Palmisano (1:29:03) wins on Qieyang Shenjie (1:29:04).
Follow Ana Cabecinha (1:29:23), Erica de Sena (1:29:29).
Eight is Beatriz Pascual (1:30:24).
Eleventh arrives Elisa Rigaudo in 1:31:04.
Our compliments of today afternoon
Compliments of Marcia dal Monto to Antonella Palmisano (also for the future - hopefully soon - marriage with Lorezo Dessi) and her coach Patrick Parcesepe: he had been right not to race in Rome.
Congratulations to Maria Guadalupe (Lupita) Gonzalez and her coach Daniel Bautista for making the race so exciting and thrilling to the last.
Congratulations to Gugu (nick name given by the Italian athletes ito Liuu Hong a couple of years ago) that proves that you can win in any kind of race.
So "en passant" we also to our congtratulations to Sandro Damilano, returning from these Olympic Games with a first-level booty.
On the nine athletes of China participating in the Olympic Games, six were coached by him: Wang Zhen and Cai Zelin - 20 men, Yu Wei and Wang Zhendong - 50 men and Liu Hong and Qieyang Shenjie - 20 women.
The coach of Saluzzo has collected two gold, one silver, two fifth places, and one eleventh place. Five finalists on six means that the technical work pays off, ever.
In the final medal standing of all sports of the Games he would be 39th position, behind Georgia and in front of Kakakistan; in the one of the only athletics would be in 7th position, behind Great Britain and in front of Croatia and Germany. But this is just a game!
(From IAAF web-site by Jon Mulkeen)
Liu Hong waited until the final few metres of the women's 20km race walk to make her decisive move, winning gold in 1:28:35.
Due in no small part to the high temperatures in the early afternoon in Pontal, it took a while for the real racing to begin. A large pack went through 4km in 18:28, but it had reduced to 15 women by 6km, which was reached in 36:25.
Most of the main medal contenders were in that pack, including world champion Liu Hong, world silver medallist Lu Xiuzhi, World Race Walking Team Championships winner Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez, Italy’s Eleonora Giorgi and Brazil’s Erica de Sena.
The lead pack, led by Liu and Gonzalez, went through the half-way point in a relatively modest 45:24. It soon became clear that the main protagonists wouldn’t let the second half be as slow as the first.
As was the case at last year’s IAAF World Championships and this year’s IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships, Italy’s Eleonora Giorgi was disqualified for loss of contact. The national record-holder had to abandon her hopes of an Olympic medal just after the 12km point.
The leaders, meanwhile, were cranking up the pace. With each of the three previous two-kilometre laps being covered just within nine minutes, the sixth one was covered in 8:47. After Giorgi stepped off the road, it left just five women at the front: Liu, Lu, Gonzalez, De Sena, and Italy’s Antonella Palmisano.
China’s 2012 Olympic silver medallist Qieyang Shenjie regained contact with the leaders and took them through 14km in 1:03:01 before throwing in a lap of 8:42 – the quickest of the race up until that point.
With Liu on one shoulder and Lu on the other, Gonzalez then pushed pace and they managed to drop Palmisano. Qieyang was the next to fall back, leaving just three women out in front.
Liu and Gonzalez increased the tempo once more, and it was eventually enough to break Lu as she resigned herself to third place. It was only in the final 40 metres that Liu dug in and strode clear of Gonzalez, winning in 1:28:35 to take her third global title after covering the final two-kilometre circuit in 8:11.
Gonzalez finished second in 1:28:37. Mexico has previously won nine Olympic medals in men’s race-walking events, but this is their first in a women’s race-walking event.
Lu took bronze in 1:28:42, while Palmisano passed a tiring Qieyang in the closing stages to finish fourth in a season’s best of 1:29:03, improving one place on her finish from last year’s World Championships.
For the fifth global championships in a row, Ana Cabecinha made it into the top eight. The Portuguese race walker finished sixth in 1:29:23. Brazilian hope Erica de Sena was seventh in 1:29:29, one place lower than her position in Beijing last year.
Competing in her fourth Olympics, Italy’s 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Elisa Rigaudo, now 36, finished 11th in 1:31:04.
Jon Mulkeen for tha IAAF
(cover photo by Getty Images)
Maria Guadalupe Gonzalex (MEX) silver in 1:28:37 (Spanish TV)
Liu Hong e Lu Xiuzhi, gold and bronze (by Giancarlo Colombo per Fidal)
Elisa Rigaudo and Antonella Palmisano celebrates fourth place of Palmisano
(by Giancarlo Colombo per Fidal)