In 20-Kilometer Race Walk, Koki Ikeda Falters in His Attempt to Win Back-to-Back Medals

Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador powered to victory in the men's 20-kilometer race walk at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday, August 1, denying Japan's Koki Ikeda a chance to improve on the silver medal he won in the event three years ago in Tokyo.

In the first track event of the Paris Games, Ikeda was in the leading pack of six late in the race. But he faded over the final three kilometers when it became a four-man race.

Ikeda finished in seventh place, 46 seconds behind Pintado while compatriot Yuta Koga was nine seconds behind Ikeda in eighth place.

"My goal was to win back-to-back medals here," Ikeda said. "I'm a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to do that but I want to express my gratitude to all the people who supported me."

Added the 26-year-old native of Shizuoka Prefecture, "I did everything possible to prepare for this moment over the past three years."

How the Race Walk Concluded in Paris

Heading down the stretch, Canada's Evan Dunfee overtook Ikeda and moved into fifth but really had no chance of catching the leaders.

Pintado, Caio Bonfim of Brazil, 2023 world champion Alvaro Martin of Spain and Italy's Massimo Stano were in the lead heading into the final lap. 

And then Pintado, who was 12th in Tokyo, pulled ahead over the last kilometer before crossing the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 18 minutes, 55 seconds to capture Ecuador's first medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Bonfim was second, 0.14 seconds off the pace while Martin was third in 1:19:11. Stano finished fourth ahead of Dunfee.

Afer taking the early lead, Bonfim relinquished it to Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom briefly before the Brazilian took it back at the halfway point.

At 13 kilometers China's Jun Zhang moved out in front but Stano went into the lead at the 16-kilometer mark with Ikeda fifth. That was as close to the lead as Japan's top medal hope would get.

The Japanese ace dropped back to sixth and then was overtaken by Dunfee and Misgana Wakuma of Ethiopia.

'I Just Ran Out of Strength,' Says Ikeda

"I knew it would be decided in the second half of the race and was prepared for that," Ikeda said.

Added Ikeda, "I tried to stay calm over the first half of the race and preserve energy, but I just ran out of strength over the final few kilometers."

Koga was in 15th place midway through the race but had a strong second half to move up to eighth.

"I gave it all I had," Koga said. "It wasn't an easy race, I'm happy to finish eighth and want to thank all of my supporters both here in Paris and watching back home on TV."

The men's and women's race walk events were held at the scenic Trocadero venue with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the background.

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Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.