Pan-23: Wrong track ‘destroys’ records in race walking – 10/29/2023 – Sport

Kimberly Garcia, from Peru, won gold in the women’s 20 km race walking event at the Pan American Games this Sunday (29), but her time was annulled after it was found that the course was several kilometers short.

Officials only realized their mistake when Garcia, the 2022 world champion and silver medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 12 minutes and 26 seconds, which would have destroyed the record. world championship by Jiayu Yang, from China, of 1:23.49.

Glenda Morejon, from Ecuador, took silver, and Evelyn Inga, from Peru, took bronze, after completing a route that the athletes believe was around 3 km shorter. Brazilian Viviane Santana came in fourth place, and Gabriela de Sousa, in ninth.

At the end of the race, the top 12 out of 15 athletes who participated in the race finished with times lower than the world record.

With the women’s race concluded and the men’s race about to begin, the organizers delayed the start for more than an hour to remeasure the route and adapt it to the official distance.

Alexander Hurtado, from Ecuador, won the men’s gold with a time of 1:19.20, just four seconds ahead of Caio Bonfim, from Brazil, bronze medalist at the World Championships. Mexican Andres Oliva came third.

“Regarding the women’s race walking event held today at O’Higgins Park, we inform you that the official times for the race are null due to a measurement problem that is the sole responsibility of the Pan American Athletics Association (APA),” he said. the Santiago Organizing Committee in a statement.

“The expert appointed by the APA, Mr. Marcelo Ithurralde, did not make precise measurements of the route the athletes took during the race.

“As established by international regulations, the APA is the only organization authorized to perform measurements and is therefore responsible for the official competition distance.”

The APA did not respond to a Reuters request to explain the reasons behind the error, but both the organizing committee and the Pan American Sports Organization were quick to assign blame.

“In turn, the Santiago 2023 Corporation is responsible for hiring the specialist designated by the APA and facilitating their work in the field of competitions,” said the organizing committee.

“We deeply regret the inconvenience for the athletes, their coaches, the public and the press present, but this situation cannot be attributed to the organizing committee.”