The first athletics' final of the Olympics ended in controversy when Mexico's Bernard Segura seemed to have won gold in front of 97,400 people (an Olympic record for the first morning session) only to be disqualified after his victory lap. According to officials, Segura - a bronze medallist in Atlanta - had received his third - and disqualifying - warning outside the stadium but did not stop.
Nevertheless, it was still an exciting race, and was "almost" the closest Olympic 20km final in history, as just five seconds separated the first three to finish. For walk-loving Mexico, there was at least the consolation of the silver medal performance of 21 year-old Noe Hernandez who clocked 1:19:03 behind Poland's Robert Korzenowski's 1:18:59.
Korzeniowski, who won the Olympic 50km in Atlanta and is going for a glorious double here in Sydney, certainly earned his gold the hard way, leading from just after halfway, reached in 39:55, with gutsy resolve.
The most thrilling part of the race was its climax, when Segura, who had been lagging about 10 metres behind Korzeniowski and Hernandez, caught the leaders just outside the stadium, then surged into the lead in the tunnel between the slip road and track. As the crowd roared, Segura completed the crossed the line and was soon hugging his countryman in delight, even if his euphoria would be brief.
Germany's Andreas Erm had done much of the early pacemaking, going through 6km in 23:57 and 8km in 31:55, leading a tightly bunched group of 12 athletes. By halfway, Segura, Korzeniowski and Russia's Vladimir Andreyev began to increase the tempo, with the Pole leading through 12km (47:53), 14km (55:44), 16km (1:03:28) and 18km (1:11:07). After 14km, the Russian made what would prove the decisive break, taking Korzeniewski with him. The two Europeans had a 10 metre lead over Segura and Hernandez, but with 2km to go, the Russian began to fade, and first Hernandez, then Segura, edged back into contention for the thrilling last kilometre.
Andreyeva's despair at finishing fourth with 1:19:03 would be shortlived following Segura's disqualification. He became the Olympic bronze medallist, while Jefferson Perez, the youngest Olympic walk champion ever in Atlanta, finished one place behind the Russian with 1:20:18.