"Rainbow" Liu Hong finally wins

After every storm comes a rainbow. Race walker Liu Hong was rewarded for years of hard work when she won the 20km event and China's first gold medal at the world athletics championships on Friday.

The dainty walker, whose name Hong means rainbow, nailed the title after racing neck-to-neck with teammate Lyu Xiuzhi for most the race.

Liu, 28, clocked one hour, 27 minutes and 45 seconds for the long-awaited victory after five world championships and two Olympic Games.

"The gold medal proved that I am the strongest in the world," said Liu, who last month at the Spanish leg of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna, triumphed in 1:24:38, beating the previous world record of 1:25:02 set by Russia's Elena Lashmanova at the 2012 Olympics.

Friday's win did not need a world-record performance as Liu and Lyu were already way ahead after five kilometers. The duo exchanged lead in the latter half of the race and practically walked side by side into the the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. Liu sailed past the finish line a few steps ahead of the 21-year-old Lyu.

"The first half went quite smooth and in the latter half, our opponents put some pressure on us, but generally speaking, we actually competed against ourselves today," she said.

Born in a rural area in China's Jiangxi Province, Liu had never thought she could one day stand at the top of the world. Race walking then might be a path to city life and ease the economic burden on her family.

But her talent was in full display after four years of training as she won the world junior title and Asian Games gold medal in 2006, and in 2008 when she finished fourth at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Liu went on to establish her domination in China and Asia, winning numerous national and Asian titles, but she was always an inch away from the world top.

She finished third at the 2009 IAAF World Championships, and second at the 2011 World Championships and then another bronze in Moscow in 2013. In between the worlds, Liu again missed the Olympic podium in London and went home with a fourth-place finish.

Not long after the Moscow worlds, Liu suffered another setback in 2013 at the quadrennial Chinese National Games, the most important national competition in China.

Having set the pace for most of the race, Liu was caught in the final few meters by Lyu Xiuzhi, and had to settle for the silver medal.

Then came the injury as Liu suffered a knee fracture which kept her off the road for a long time. But she managed to see a silver lining.

"The injury brought changes to my way of training," said Liu. "I started to pay more attention to strength training, so I am so much stronger than before."

"I have kept best shape this year. I am confident because I am injury free and have been training in a very systematic way," she said.

After reaching the first peak of her career, Liu set another big goal.

"I have much confidence now. With the world championships gold medal and a world record, I believe I can do well in Rio next year," said Liu, who is bidding to become the second Chinese Olympic champion in the event after Wang Liping in 2000. Endi