Ecuador’s Brian Pintado secured gold in the 20km race walk at the Paris Olympics, inspired by his children. He crossed the finish line with a time of 1:18:55.
Paris, Bollywoodfever: Moments after Brian Pintado of Ecuador blazed to a glorious gold medal in the 20km race walk at the Paris Olympics, he pulled out a tiny photo of his two children from his waistband pocket. They were his inspiration when the going got tough.
The 29-year-old pulled away from the field over the final kilometre, securing victory on Thursday with a time of one hour, 18 minutes, and 55 seconds.
“It motivated me to really give everything,” Pintado said of the photo of his son Nicolas and daughter Montserrath.
Caio Bonfim of Brazil raced to silver in 1:19.09, while 2023 world champion Alvaro Martin of Spain finished third in 1:19.11, kicking off the Olympic athletics competition.
This victory marked Pintado’s first in a global competition, following his silver in the 35km distance at the 2022 world championships.
“It was insane,” Pintado said. “In the last few metres, I realized I was completely alone, and seeing the finish line, I just kept thinking, ‘I’m the Olympic champion, it’s me.'”
He reflected on the sacrifices he made: “It has been tough to be away from my family for four months, but they were with me throughout the race.”
The race saw numerous lead changes among a tight group of 15 walkers through the first 13km. By the 15km mark, the group started to spread out. The top four pulled away from the field by the final lap, with Pintado—wearing mirrored sunglasses, a scarf gifted by his grandmother, and a silver necklace with a pendant of two runners representing him and his son—increasing his lead over the final grueling kilometre.
Pintado celebrated by shaking his fists in triumph after crossing the finish line.
“I don’t remember how the competition went, I was just focused on my walking and listened to my trainer and the ones giving advice to me,” Pintado said. “Yesterday I cried because I was scared, but then I connected with my family and my mother, and they motivated me. I only slept four hours last night because I was so excited.”
The course was a 1km loop along the picturesque Pont d’Alene and under the Eiffel Tower. An early-morning thunderstorm pushed back the start by 30 minutes, but by the time the walkers took to the line, the clouds had given way to blue skies and a comfortable temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Olympic race walks returned to the host city of Paris three years after the Olympic walks were held in Sapporo to beat the sizzling Tokyo heat.
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