China's Liang sets new record at race walk championships

Even though she had never taken part in a 50km race walk before, China's Liang Rui exceeded even her own expectations by smashing the world record and coming out triumphant with a gold medal at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships in Taicang, East China's Jiangsu province, on Saturday.

The 23-year old clocked a time of 4:04:36, beating the previous record by 80 seconds. Yin Hang, Liang's teammate, finished second, with Claire Tallent of Australia coming in a close third.

Powered by the strong performances of Liang, Yin and Ma Faying (5th), the Chinese team emerged from the race as champions.

Liang revealed post-race that her original goal was to rank in the top three, with the simple strategy of keeping up with the other athletes on the course.

"It feels great to win gold. I was aiming for a spot in the top three before the race, but the weather agreed with me and as the race went on, I felt like I really stood a chance at victory."

Bracing drizzle and strong winds, Liang and her five teammates kept hot on the heels of previous world record holder, Ines Henriques of Portugal, in the first half.

Henriques dropped out of the race at about 29 km, leaving only four women leading the pack: Liang, Yin, Li Maocuo and Tallent.

When asked about whether Henriques affected her performance in any way, Liang emphasized how her Portuguese adversary's dropping out didn't have an impact on her, as she was setting her own pace.

The four walked neck on neck for much of the remaining course, until reaching the 40km mark when Liang successfully broke away from the pack and sped to the finishing line.

Regarding future races, Liang modestly stated, "My teammates and I will continue taking it step by step, and we hope for an even more successful outcome."

The race walking competition ends Sunday.