Ecuador’s Patin wins men’s 5,000m race walk at Youth Olympics

Buenos Aires, Oct 16: Ecuadorian Oscar Patin claimed the gold medal in the men's 5,000m race walk at the Youth Olympics here.

Patin finished second in the second heat with a time of 20 minutes and 38.17 seconds on Monday, but his time of 20:13.69 in the first heat last Thursday was good enough to lift him to the top of the podium, reports Xinhua news agency. 

The silver medal went to India's Suraj Panwar and the bronze to Puerto Rico's Jan Moreu.

"It was a very strong race, which demanded a lot of strategy because the sun was shining directly on the body and the pace was very fast, but fortunately, in the end my rivals could not stand the rhythm of the competition," said Patin. 

The Games, which attracted 4,000 athletes from around the world, will end on Thursday.