20 kilometres Race Walk, Men

Prior to this race, Ecuador had never won a medal in any Olympic event. Jeffersón Pérez won his nation’s first Olympic medal, with a gold, after having won the 1992 World Junior 10 km. The race was quite close, with a pack of seven together nearing the 19th kilometer. But Pérez then opened up a quick 30 metre lead on Russian Iliya Markov, and won going away. All three medalists finished together on the final straight of the track.