In what will likely be his final Olympics, Canadian race walker Evan Dunfee came just shy of a podium appearance.
Dunfee, 33, finished in fifth place with a time of 1:19:16, 21 seconds behind the winner. Despite sticking with the leading group for several laps, Dunfee fell behind as the race began to open up. He made a push in the final two kilometres, but was ultimately unable to close the five-second gap between himself and third place.
Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado took home the gold medal with a time of 1:18:55, the first gold medal of the Games and his career. Brazil’s Caio Bonfim came in second, 14 seconds behind Pintado and Spain’s Alvaro Martin earned bronze, finishing two seconds after Martin.
Mexico’s Jose Luis Doctor was disqualified from the race after receiving his third red card — meaning the judges assessed three times that the 28 year old did not maintain one foot on the ground at all times. A competitor may only receive one red card before penalties are awarded: a two-minute penalty for three and a disqualification for four.
Dunfee, a Richmond, B.C. native, earned bronze at Tokyo 2020 in the 50-km race walk, but that event is not on the Paris program. He finished fourth in the 50-km walk and 10th in the 20km in 2016.
Race walking is one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program, making it’s debut at the 1908 Games.