- Set a new personal best
- Started in fifth place at 15km but finished strong
Australian athlete Jemima Montag has secured a bronze medal in the 20km race walking event at the Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old from Melbourne finished third in a competitive field of 45 participants, trailing Jiayu Yang from China and María Pérez from Spain amidst challenging weather conditions.
At the 15km checkpoint, she was in fifth place but made a strong move in the final 5km, crossing the line only five seconds behind Pérez, who took silver.
Montag achieved a new national record with a time of 1:26:25, having previously broken her own record twice this year.
Following her finish, she quickly helped Pérez, who was experiencing exhaustion.
Montag is now the second Australian to medal in this event, joining Jane Saville, who won bronze at the Athens Olympics 20 years ago.
A renowned performer in major competitions, Montag finished second at last year’s world championships and has claimed gold at the last two Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast in 2018 and Birmingham in 2022.
Jemima Montag has contributed to Australia’s medal tally with her bronze in the 20km race walk.
Montag’s grandmother was a Holocaust survivor who escaped the horrors of Auschwitz; she passed away three years ago, shortly before Montag participated in the Tokyo Games.
‘I lost my nana just before the Olympic Games, and it’s only in the months that have followed that we’ve really begun to explore her experience as a Holocaust survivor,’ Montag shared with ABC in 2022.
‘It’s something she understandably didn’t want to discuss much, due to the pain and trauma involved.’
Earlier on Thursday, Brian Pintado from Ecuador clinched the first athletics gold of the 2024 Olympics, pulling ahead in the final stages to win the men’s 20km walk.
Pintado recorded a time of 1:18:55, with Brazil’s Caio Bonfim (1:19:09) and Spain’s Alvaro Martin (1:19:11) taking the silver and bronze, respectively.
Jemima Montag set a new national record during her bronze medal performance.
Australian athlete Declan Tingay remained in the leading pack for the first 15km, ultimately finishing 11th with a time of 1:19:56, just ahead of his compatriot Rhydian Cowley.
The third Australian competitor, Kyle Swan, placed 35th.
Both races experienced a half-hour delay due to overnight thunderstorms.
Montag and her Australian teammates are set to compete again next Wednesday in the inaugural mixed marathon race walk relay.
Stay tuned for more updates.
