India’s Priyanka Goswami achieved her personal best in women’s 10000 meter race walking final in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 and clinched the silver medal on Saturday, August 6. Goswami was leading from the start and looked on course to clinching the gold medal but Australia’s Jemima Montag surpassed her to finish first.
Goswami registered the time of 43 minutes and 38 seconds to finish second behind Montag’s 42 minutes and 34 seconds, which is the new CWG record in women’s 10km race walking event. Goswami clinched India’s third medal in athletics after Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze medal in high jump and Murali Sreeshankar’s silver in men’s long jump events at CWG 2022.
From the first blow of the whistle, Priyanks was leading comfortably till the 4km mark before Australia’s Montag and Kenya’s Emily Wamusyi Ngii overtook her. Priyank was trailing the two women and was in the third place till the 8km mark before she pushed herself in the last 2000 meters and gave the two a real run for the money. Priyanka surpassed Emily but Australia’s Montag had taken too big a lead to be challenged and finished at the top while the Indian athelte was a minute late to the finishing line.
Priyanka became the first Indian woman to win a medal in racewalking event in Commonwealth Games and only the second athlete overall after Harminder Singh won a bronze in the 20km event in 2010 in Delhi.
Priyanka, an Office Superintendent in Railways, finished 17th in the last year’s Tokyo Olympics in the 20km race walking event and came into the CWG as one of the leading contenders. Not just Priyanka, another Indian athlete Bhawna Jat too was part of the event, however, she finished last in the 8-women competition not before registering her personal best as well of 47 minutes and 14 seconds.
This was India’s 9th silver medal and 27th medal overall, including nine gold and as many bronze.
