In Sapporo, the Frenchman was forced to retire at the 29th kilometer. This latest version of the 50 km walk before transformation in Paris in 2024 was won by the Polish Dawid Tomala.
“I didn’t know how to say stop in time, I worked hard, it’s a shame but it’s part of my character”. Five years after his ordeal in Rio, Yohann Diniz said goodbye, at age 43, in the 50 km walk on an unsuccessful race at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Rémois retired shortly after halfway on Friday, during the 29th kilometer and after about two and a quarter hours of effort. The race was organized in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido, a thousand kilometers further north of Tokyo, like four other athletics events, in order to limit the heat and protect the participants.
“It’s the competition too many, the Olympiad too many”, he released a few minutes after his abandonment. It was in any case the last of his rich career, marked by a world champion title in 2017, three European champion (2006, 2010, 2014) and a world record (2014). But no Olympic medal, despite four attempts. The last also in Olympic history, since the event will be replaced at the Paris Olympics in 2024 by a mixed team race.
It will be remembered that it was the Polish Dawid Tomala who won the last gold medal, in 3 hours 50′08 ″, ahead of the German Jonathan Hilbert and the Canadian Evan Dunfee.
Diniz, however, will have animated the half of the race in which he will have participated. Last to go to the starting line, given at 5:30 a.m. under 26 degrees and nearly 85% humidity – weather conditions finally comparable to those of Tokyo -, but one of the first to go on the offensive . So after four kilometers, the Chinese Luo Yadong and he were about thirty seconds ahead of the peloton.
Damn JO
But trouble quickly arrived for the Rémois, from the past fifth kilometer, with a first toilet break for gastric problems and several other stops, to the point of being nearly two minutes late at the passage of the tenth kilometer. An impressive comeback to the top of the pack as it approached halfway, completed in just under two hours, briefly gave new hope, but Diniz was once again off the hook, irretrievably this time, and surrendered to the 29th kilometer.
“I had a stomach ache, I stopped, after I had to catch up on my delay, but I quickly felt that I had no good feelings, no legs at all, I was in pain to the adductor, to the back… Physically, my body was not responding “, says Diniz, who says he has not suffered particularly from the heat and humidity.
“I did not end on a good note unfortunately, I am annoyed by this end, but it is in the image of my career: ups and downs, and never good at the Olympics”, he sums up. It ends today (Friday), it started in 2005 with a disqualification (at the Worlds), between the two, there will have been two, three cool things. But it is not up to what I expected. “
Among the highs, we will add to his world title and his European titles his world record set in 2014 (3 hours 32′33 ″) which still stands. Among the lows, his lack of success at the Olympics, from Beijing to Sapporo (abandonment in 2008 and 2020, disqualification in 2012, 8th in 2016). In particular, inevitably, his way of the cross lived in Rio, which has done a lot for his legend. Seized by excruciating intestinal pain when he was well in the lead, Diniz had collapsed and stood up several times before finishing eighth, exhausted and evacuated in a wheelchair.
“It’s not the desire that was no longer there, but the maximum of the evil, I crossed it in Rio. I believe that I was no longer able to go beyond a certain suffering. As far”, he admits. “Maybe I should have realized that before. I didn’t know how to say stop in time, I worked hard, it’s a shame but it’s part of my character ”, recognizes Diniz, who had also given up at the Worlds-2019, after 16 km, suffocated by the sweltering of Doha.
In addition to the three walking events, the two marathons, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m., were relocated to Sapporo by decision of the IOC in the fall of 2019, in search of milder weather conditions.
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