Caio Bonfim bags unprecedented race walk silver for Brazil
In the first athletics event at the Paris Olympics, Brazil’s Caio Bonfim snatched the silver medal in race walking. It was the first victory for the 33-year-old, who is making his fourth Olympic appearance.
From the start of the race, Bonfim remained among the frontrunners, close to the main pack. The Brazilian even held the lead for a few kilometers, but on the last lap Ecuadorian Brian Pintado overtook him and broke away. Pintado won with a time of 1:18:55. Even with two punishments, Bonfim remained among the frontrunners and crossed the finish line in 1:19:09. Spain’s Alvaro Martin (1:19:11) took bronze.
The achievement crowns the work of a lifetime dedicated to athletics. Bonfim started in the sport at an early age, inspired by his mother Gianetti Sena Bonfim, who was an athlete in the sport and became his coach. His father, João Bonfim, is also an athletics coach. The Bonfim family is behind the Sobradinho Athletics Center, a social project that trains new athletes in the Federal District.
“Everyone who saw race walking one day said, ‘That’s strange.’ For me it was normal, as my mother was a race walker. She qualified for Atlanta 1996, but the criteria changed and she didn’t go. When I went to London I asked her, ‘Who said you didn’t go to the Olympics?’ And today, at our fourth Olympics, I can turn to my mother and say, ‘We’re Olympic medalists! We’re Olympic medalists!” Caio Bonfim said in an interview with SporTV.
Two other Brazilians took part in the 20km athletics race. Max Batista came 28th and Matheus Correa finished 39th.
Women’s athletics
The women’s race walking was also contested on Wednesday, with 45 athletes taking part. The Brazilians did not win any medals. The best-placed was Erica Sena, who finished 13th. Viviane Lyra crossed the finish line in 18th place. The gold went to China’s Jiayu Yang, with a time of 1:21:47. Silver went to Spain’s Maria Perez and bronze to Australia’s Jemima Montag.
Slated to take place Wednesday (Aug. 7) is the marathon race walk mixed relay, a competition that is featuring on the Olympic Games program for the first time. In the event, a man and a woman take turns running a 10km course, ultimately totaling 42.195km, the distance of a marathon. Brazil will be represented by Caio Bonfim and Viviane Lyra.
