The Hindu : Sport : Australian wins first Olympic test race

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Australian wins first Olympic test race

BEIJING: Australian Jared Tallent on Friday won the first Olympic test event held in China’s National Stadium — known as the Bird’s Nest.

Tallent held off local favorite Wang Hao to win the men’s 20-kilometer walk race in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 11 seconds.

“I was happy with the race, with the result, but the main thing is we have to do it again in August,” the 23-year-old Tallent said.

Tallent said the air pollution was not a problem, although the temperatures were lower than will be expected in August when the Beijing Olympics will be held.

Wang finished 14 seconds behind Tallent, while Mexico’s Eder Sanchez was a further 32 seconds back.

“I was really excited to come into the stadium. It was a fantastic feeling, really special,” Wang said.

In a nearly all-Chinese women’s field, the hosts took the first three places with Liu Hong (1:29:33), Yang Yawei (1:29:33) and Shi Yang (1:29:39).

The IAAF Race Walking Challenge was the first event staged in the Bird’s Nest, which opened this week. There were about 3,000 fans on hand at the finish in the 91,000-seat stadium, which has become an icon of the Beijing Games with its unusual design of twisted steel beams that wrap around the exterior to resemble silver twigs binding a nest together.

While Tallent did not have a problem with Beijing’s infamous air pollution, Sanchez said it was similar to Mexico and a problem for him.

“After 15km, my eyes were hurting and my throat was sore,” he said.

The US$450 million stadium will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the Olympic track and field events. Of the 37 venues for the games, it was the last to be completed. — AP

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