Chen Ding walked to the gold medal in the men’s 20 kilometer walk at the Olympics on Saturday as a pair of highly-rated Russians fell by the wayside.
Chen won in an Olympic record time of 1 hour 18 minutes 46 seconds, slightly ahead of Erick Barrondo, who gave Guatemala its first-ever Olympic medal with silver.
The bronze went to China’s Wang Zhen.
Russian walker Valery Borchin won gold in Beijing four years ago and had been challenging for a medal until he collapsed with around one kilometer remaining of the race and was given medical treatment.
Another Russian, world record holder Vladimir Kanaykin, was disqualified for running.
