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 one minute, 19.16 seconds in the 20-km race walk on Thursday, five seconds back of bronze medallist Alvaro Martin of Spain. 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 unable to close the five-second gap for a medal.
“I gave it all I had out there,” Dunfee said, per the Canadian Olympic Committee. “I’m really proud of the effort. … Four guys were better than me today. I can’t fault anything I did.
“… I’ll walk away with my head high.”
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 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 20-km race in 2016.
Race walking is one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program, making its debut at the 1908 Games.