Tokyo 2020 - Poland's Dawid Tomala cruises to men's 50 kilometre race walk gold with dominant performance
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Updated 06/08/2021 at 04:42 GMT
Dawid Tomala adds his gold to Poland's triumphs in the men and women's hammer throw, as well as the mixed 4 x 400m relay. The 31-year-old took the lead just before halfway and never looked back, with Germany's Jonathan Hilbert and Canada's Evan Dunfee rounding out the podium. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
‘You've done it!’ – Sobbing final finisher in race walk praised as he crosses line hour after winner
Dawid Tomala secured Poland’s fourth gold after a commanding performance in the men’s 50 kilometre race walk around the streets of Tokyo.
Amidst sweltering 32 degrees heat, Tomala launched a devastating charge just before the halfway stage to accumulate a comfortable lead that he held relentlessly to finish in 3:50:08.
Incredibly, it was only the 31-year-old’s third 50km race, with Tomala predominantly competing in 20km events.
Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert clinched silver, whilst Evan Dunfee of Canada made a last ditch sprint to steal bronze from Spain’s Marc Tur.
China’s Yadong Luo set the pace in the early stages, holding a 25-second lead at the 10km mark.
Yohann Diniz had moved ahead of Luo momentarily, the Frenchman holding the current 50km race world record at 3:32:33.
However the former world champion’s race was disrupted by stomach issues, forcing Diniz to the sidelines on several occasions before he eventually pulled out of the race.
It marked a fourth consecutive Games of heartbreak for the 43-year-old; stomach issues had similarly ended his race in Beijing, he was disqualified for taking a water bottle out of zone in London, and collapsed when leading at Rio to ultimately finish eighth.
Luo still held his lead a quarter through, but Tomala had begun to make his move.
The Pole took the lead for the first time around 20km, exchanging first position for a short while before beginning to pull away.
Holding a nine second lead at the 30km mark, Tomala never looked back, holding a relentless pace to extend his advantage with every passing kilometre.
With 10km remaining, the 31-year-old had stretched his breathing room to just under three minutes, his rivals now needing a miracle to take gold.
It has been an Olympics full of incredible late drama, but there was none to be found on the streets of Tokyo, as Tomala pushed through the closing kilometres.
Waning slightly towards the end, his commanding lead finally being trimmed to a minute as exhaustion clipped his technique, Tomala pushed through the final straight.
Flag draped over his shoulders, the Pole beamed as he crossed the finished line, greeting Hilbert and Dunfee as they followed him home in second and third.
The Canadian had come into the final straight just outside a podium position, but a late sprint past Spain’s Tur snuck him a dramatic podium place by just nine seconds.
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