Tom Bosworth, who was competing in his first Olympic Games finished in sixth place in the Men's 20km walk, breaking his own British record in the process finishing with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 13 seconds, 28 seconds quicker than the previous record.
Tom had the race of his life, leading for more than 10k, until he was passed by a group of walkers, as the pace increased, with 2k to go. Tom dug in and managed to stay in contention, passing some competitors in the closing stages to finish in a highly creditable sixth, less than a minute behind the winner.
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| Tom in action in the Olympic race walk - photo Harry Dineley |
After the race in Rio, Tom said "I'm in shock at what happened, I just thought I will take it on. The pace was so easy, I thought people would just come with me. I felt good and was comfortable with the pace I was going, but I knew I had the best in the world behind me and I knew they would catch me, but I just tried to hold on."
"I dropped down to ninth at one point, but I thought, 'screw this, I've not led the race for this long to finish outside the top eight and I just went for it. I can't be disappointed with sixth place at the Olympics, to break the British record by such a margin, and at the Olympics, is a dream come true."
Andi Drake, who coaches Tom at the National Race Walk Centre in Leeds; "All Tom's technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation numbers were his best ever and he executed his process goals perfectly. Tom walked at his pace and despite being passed in the closing kilometers he did a negative split, to achieve a new British record. This was the best performance by a GB athlete in the race walks since 1972."
Tom's manager Ian Byers said; We at 17 Management are all so proud of Tom, we know just how hard he works and how much he has sacrificed to pursue his Olympic dream. To come into the race ranked 37th, lead for over 10k and finish 6th, whilst smashing his British record is an incredible achievement. It should be remembered that Tom is still relatively young in terms of race walking and he can only get better through the next Olympic cycle to Tokyo 2020."
Julian Bosworth, Tom's father; "We are so proud of Tom, I can hardly put any words to how I feel right now". Those thoughts were echoed by Tom's partner, Harry, who added; "All his hard work is paying off, we could not be happier".
"I dropped down to ninth at one point, but I thought, 'screw this, I've not led the race for this long to finish outside the top eight and I just went for it. I can't be disappointed with sixth place at the Olympics, to break the British record by such a margin, and at the Olympics, is a dream come true."
Andi Drake, who coaches Tom at the National Race Walk Centre in Leeds; "All Tom's technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation numbers were his best ever and he executed his process goals perfectly. Tom walked at his pace and despite being passed in the closing kilometers he did a negative split, to achieve a new British record. This was the best performance by a GB athlete in the race walks since 1972."
Tom's manager Ian Byers said; We at 17 Management are all so proud of Tom, we know just how hard he works and how much he has sacrificed to pursue his Olympic dream. To come into the race ranked 37th, lead for over 10k and finish 6th, whilst smashing his British record is an incredible achievement. It should be remembered that Tom is still relatively young in terms of race walking and he can only get better through the next Olympic cycle to Tokyo 2020."
Julian Bosworth, Tom's father; "We are so proud of Tom, I can hardly put any words to how I feel right now". Those thoughts were echoed by Tom's partner, Harry, who added; "All his hard work is paying off, we could not be happier".
Find out more about Tom via his website www.tombosworth.com
You can follow Tom on Twitter @TomBosworth
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