Chinese sweep medals of IAAF women's 20km race walking

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Three Chinese athletes swept the women's 20km medals here Friday at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, which inaugurated the National Stadium, the main sports arena "Bird Nest" for the Beijing Olympics.

Liu Hong, a 20-year-old walker from Guangdong Province, won the contest with one hour 29 minutes and 33 seconds, narrowly beating her fellow athlete Yang Yawei who completed the race in the same time. The umpire gifted Liu the gold medal.

Shi Yang finished third in 1:29:39.

All of the three medalists are hot candidates for the Chinese national team for the Beijing Olympics.

Liu said she performed at most 80 percent and hoped to get a good result in the coming Olympics. "The cement road we were racing on was a little bit tough," Liu said, adding that she is more comfortable with the commonly-used tarmac road for race walking competition.

Yang, aged 24 and from Chongqing, lost the gold to Liu at an indiscernible disadvantage. She said she was worried about fouling again. "I was a bit nervous after being shown the yellow card during the race."

One of the 42 test events before the Olympics in August, the IAAF Race Walking Challenge attracted athletes from a few countries to participate in.

Australian walker Jared Tallent won the men's 20km race walking in 1:20:11 Friday morning in the same stadium.