20 kilometres Race Walk, Men

The course had a crazy finish, with the last 1,500 metres climbing almost straight up Montjuíc to Estadi Olímpic, on a hill that had been deemed too steep for the marathon. And the weather was brutal for distance walkers with temperatures starting at 70° F. (21° C.) amidst high humidity (88%), and getting progressively hotter during the race, reaching near 80° F. (26° C.) at the finish. Spain’s Daniel Plaza was the hometown favorite, living only 10 km. from the stadium. He also had extra incentive as he had been disqualified at the 1991 World Championships. By 15 km. he had taken control of the race and would eventually win by 40 seconds over Canada’s Guillaume LeBlanc.