It has already been reported that Arnis Rumbenieks won the 37th place on Friday, but Smolonskis was disqualified in the 50th kilometer walking competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, celebrating the victory for Paul David Tomal.
Due to the expected heat in Tokyo, long-distance athletics competitions in walking and running take place in the northern city of Sapporo. However, the weather there was not gentle either, as the temperature reached 33 degrees Celsius at the start of the last hour of the race and continued to rise.
“At the start I went with tears of joy in my eyes that I have reached my life goal. I started the distance well, but I received the first warnings in the tenth kilometer, so I decided not to step with the leading group anymore. to say that this step cost more than if it had remained in the group of leaders, “Smolonski recalled the course of the competition.
The pace at which he continued the distance is not usual for Smolonskis, because the athlete does not walk so slowly about training.
“The body could not take its position and I received several reprimands, followed by a five-minute penalty. It is very unfortunate that I failed to prove myself. I achieved the second worst result that could have been. The worst is withdrawal,” Smolonsky said.
Smolonski also received his disqualification at the World Championship last year, but he does not think that it would be a lack of experience.
“Walking is an interesting sport, because there are matches where you give notes and matches where you don’t give. So in the end you can’t really understand whether the right move is or not. because it still shows notes, “concluded the athlete.
Smolonsky also said that he had adapted quite well to Japanese time after arriving in Tokyo.
“While flying, I tried not to sleep so I could go to bed in Tokyo at 7 pm. I met an hour later because I had a workout after I arrived. I slept well the first night, but “The change of time zone and weather did not affect me,” explained the walker.
On the other hand, Rumbenieks tried to adapt to the Japanese time while he was still in Latvia.
“I live here in my time zone, which is not usual in everyday life. I got acclimatized quite quickly and my body adapts well to the time zone. This is not an obstacle that would prevent me from starting,” said Rumbenieks.
This was his third Olympic Games for him, but the walker refuses to compare previous starts with a walk in Tokyo.
“I am preparing like any serious start, so I would not say that this race is different in any way. From this finish I gained quite a lot of experience, which will have to be taken into account in future starts,” Rumbenieks emphasized.
Tomala took the lead in the second half of the distance, walking alone for the last 20 kilometers. The 31-year-old pole crossed the finish line after three hours, 50 minutes and eight seconds of distance.
Second-placed German Jonathan Hilbert finished 36 seconds later, while Canadian Evans Danfy was 51 seconds behind.
Rumbenieks was in the distance at the end of the fourth decade and the beginning of the fifth decade, with Tomal losing 23 minutes and 25 seconds at the finish. Meanwhile, Smolonskis, approaching the middle of the distance, was in the third tenth, but reached the 25-kilometer mark in 47th place. He did not reach the next intermediate finish because he was disqualified.
Of the 59 participants, 47 finished, ten withdrew, and two were disqualified.
50 kilometers of walking will not be included in the program of the next Olympic Games.
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