Athletics: Women’s race walk gold medalist Yang Jiayu (CHN) keeps promise she made to her late father
A little while ago we spoke to Yang after winning the 20km women’s race walk, and she revealed that she had promised her father she would win Olympic gold before he passed away.
From 12th place in Tokyo to 1st place in Paris, can you share with us how special this moment is for you?
YANG: Yeah, I’m quite happy about today’s race. In Tokyo, I was penalized in the backstretch when I was fighting for this medal, and it was a pity that I didn’t get on the podium. For the past three years,I’ve tried my best to bloom in Paris for this Olympics, I’m glad I did.
Your father passed away in 2015, how proud do you think he would have been if he could have seen you get a gold medal?
YANG:Â It was never mentioned in previous interviews, but I promised him before that I would stand on the top podium, and then today I did it.