LONDON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Eider Arevalo of Colombia claimed the men's 20km race walk title at the IAAF World Championships here on Sunday.
It was the first gold medal for Colombia at the London worlds.
Arevalo, the former world junior champion, registered a new national record of one hour, 18 minutes and 53 seconds, and also bettered his previous best by 52 seconds.
"It was a complicated competition but I was prepared physiologically and physically. In the last four kilometers I decided to make it quicker and ultimately the last kilometer was decisive," said the 24-year-old Colombian who outraced authorized neutral athlete Sergei Shirobokov in the final kilometer.
Shirobokov finished runner-up with two seconds adrift and he was quite satisfied with his performance on the two-kilometer lap course outside of London's landmark Buckingham Palace.
"I am so young. These are my first world championships so I'm so glad to win this medal. I wanted to win the gold but I couldn't today," the 18-year-old said. "My goal was to compete for other Russian athletes who have been banned. It was a great motivation to be here. I wanted to win for them."
Caio Bonfim, fourth finisher at the Olympic Games in Rio last summer, ranked third in 1:19:04, which also stands as the national record for Brazil.
"This is an historic victory for me and for Brazilian sport. It is our first medal at these World Championships and the first in our history of race walking," Bonfim said. "Before the race, I tried my best to calm my emotions and promised I wouldn't cry and I didn't.
China's Wang Kaihua finished seventh.
