The Women's 20 km Walk

Race walking

Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance athletic event. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times...

 event at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 as part of the athletics program

Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...

 was held on August 23.

In her home country Athanasia Tsoumeleka

Athanasia Tsoumeleka

Athanasia Tsoumeleka is a Greek race walker, who won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Until 2003 Tsoumeleka was a largely unknown athlete, and she only finished seventh at the World Championships that year...

 claimed the title. The 22-year-old Greek, whose previous best international performance was her fourth place at the 2000 World Juniors, made a burst with just 2 kilometres left, and resisted the desperate counter-attacks from Russia’s Olimpiada Ivanova

Olimpiada Ivanova

Olimpiada Vladimirovna Ivanova is a Russian race walker. She has 4 medals from the major events. She was born in Munsjuty, Chuvashia.Her first gold medal was won in the 2001 Edmonton World Championships, where she beat the rest of the world with the time 1.27:48...

 and Jane Saville

Jane Saville

Jane Kara Saville is an Australian race walker who won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She was born in Sydney....

, of Australia, to finish four seconds ahead of the Russian in 1:29.12, with Saville a further nine seconds back in 1:29:25 for bronze.

With a strong breeze around the Olympic Stadium, temperatures at the start of the race were not as fierce as they had been over the weekend, at a mere 26 degrees. It helped to keep a strong, good-sized bunch together, including all the anticipated favourites, such as Ivanova and Yelena Nikolayeva

Yelena Nikolayeva

Yelena Nikolayevna Nikolayeva is a Russian race walker.Her first international achievement was a fifth place at the 1987 World Championships, something which happened again at the 1991 World Indoor Championships. One year later she won an Olympic silver medal behind Chen Yueling...

, the reigning world champion, Spain’s María Vasco

María Vasco

María del Monte Vasco Pes Gallardo is a Spanish race walker. She won the bronze medal over 20 km at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and the bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. She was born in Barcelona, Catalonia.-Achievements:-References:*...

, the sisters Jane and Natalie Saville

Natalie Saville

Natalie Saville is an Australian race walker.She finished second in the 20 km race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games behind her sister, Jane, after finishing 4th at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 36th in the same event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens...

, Song Hongjuan

Song Hongjuan

Song Hongjuan is a Chinese race walker.-Achievements:-References:...

, from PR China, and her team mate Wang Liping

Wang Liping (athlete)

Wang Liping is a Chinese race walker who became an Olympic champion by winning the 20 kilometer event in 2000. Four years later in Athens she finished eighth in the 20 kilometre walk race....

, the Sydney gold medal-winner, and Italy’s Elisa Rigaudo

Elisa Rigaudo

Elisa Rigaudo is an Italian race walker from Cuneo. In 2002 she received a public warning for a doping offence.-Achievements:-References:*...

, the leader of the Race Walking Challenge standings.

Plus, there were two Greeks, Athina Papayianni

Athina Papayianni

Athina Papayianni is a Greek race walker. She was born in Preveza.-Achievements:-External links:...

 and Tsoumeleka, the three-time Greek champion whose previous best time was 1:29:34 she recorded last year. The lead group clicked off the opening 2 km laps in just over nine minutes each, although the fourth lap picked up slightly to reach 8 km in 36:17. With fourteen walkers still in close contention at halfway (45:16), Ivanova and Margarita Turova at the front of the pack began turning the screw ever so slightly, covering the sixth lap in just 8:55. The principal casualty was Song, the fastest in the world this year ahead of the Games, with 1:26.46, but unable to sustain this pace.

The next lap was faster still, at 8:51, and now Jane Saville, the woman who four years ago was in the gold medal position when just outside the Olympic Stadium but was barred from entry because of a third judge’s warning, was setting the pace once again. Into the last lap, though, and it was Tsoumeleka, who made a telling burst, quickly opening up a lead of some 10 metres on Saville and Ivanova. Despite being served her second warning in sight of the stadium, Tsoumeleka was able to sustain her speed to see off the Russian and Australian.

Medalists

Abbreviations

DNS	did not start
NM	no mark
OR	olympic record
WR	world record
AR	area record
NR	national record
PB	personal best
SB	season best

Records

Standing records prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics
World Record		1:26:22	November 19, 2001	Guangzhou Guangzhou Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port... , PR China
Olympic Record		1:29:05	September 28, 2000	Sydney, Australia

Final ranking

Rank	Athlete	Time	Note
		1:29.12	PB
		1:29.16
		1:29.25
4		1:29:39
5		1:29:52
6		1:29:57
7		1:30:06
8		1:30:16
9		1:30:22
10		1:30:37
11		1:30:39
12		1:30:49	SB
13		1:31:02
14		1:31:27
15		1:31:49
16		1:31:59
17		1:32:16
18		1:32:21	SB
19		1:32:22
20		1:32:47
21		1:33:06
22		1:33:17
23		1:33:36
24		1:33:37
25		1:33:53
26		1:33:59
27		1:34:30
28		1:34:43
29		1:34:56
30		1:35:32
31		1:35:43
32		1:35:56
33		1:36:02
34		1:36:07
35		1:36:34
36		1:36:54
37		1:37:14
38		1:37:40
39		1:37:53
40		1:37:56
41		1:38:36
42		1:38:45
43		1:38:47
44		1:39:45
45		1:39:54
46		1:42:22
47		1:42:37
48		1:46:21
49		1:46:41
50		1:49:08
51		1:49:28
52		2:04:54	PB
DID NOT FINISH (DNF)
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DISQUALIFIED (DSQ)
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