China’s Yang Jiayu sprinted (or should we say strolled?) into the history books on Thursday, claiming 🥇 in the women’s 20km race walk at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her season-best time of 1:25:54 secured China’s 11th gold this Games – and her first-ever Olympic triumph 🌟.
Yang dominated from the start, setting a blistering 4:22 pace in the first kilometer. By the 10km mark, she’d built a lead that even Spain’s Maria Perez (silver) and Australia’s Jemima Montag (bronze) couldn’t close, despite Perez’s late charge ⚡️.
No stranger to podiums, Yang’s been walking circles around competition since her 2017 World Championships win. Though she holds the world record (1:23:49!), this victory cements her as an Olympic legend 🏆. Talk about consistency – she’s been unstoppable since day one!
Fun fact: Race walking requires one foot to always touch the ground. Yang’s balance of speed and technique? Pure art 🎨. Congrats to her – and Team China 🇨🇳!
