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China's Liu ends long wait for Olympic glory in 20km walk

Xinhua, August 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Liu Hong's long wait for an Olympic medal ended on Friday when the Chinese world record holder won the women's 20km walk in dramatic fashion at the Rio Games.

The 29-year-old clocked one hour 28.35 minutes to beat Mexico's Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez by just two hundredths of a second.

China's Lu Xiuzhi took bronze, only 0.07 seconds behind her teammate.

"It was hard because the weather wasn't that good," Liu said of the hot conditions. "The only thing I could do was keep going, do my best and try to make it perfect."

Italy's Antonella Palmisano was fourth and China's Qieyang Shijie fifth.

Liu finished fourth in the race at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics. She rebounded from those setbacks by posting a world record of 1:24.38 in Spain last year.

"It means a lot to me. I have been doing this sport for more than 10 years now," Liu added. "This time I was doing my best to get a medal and I am pleased I could get the gold." Endit