Jared Tallent wins 20k walk at Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI — Jared Tallent pulled away from Australian teammate Luke Adams on the penultimate lap of the men's 20-kilometer walk Saturday to win the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Adams, who has now won three straight Commonwealth Games silver medals in the event, had led for much of the race on the 2-kilometer loop in central New Delhi but stumbled with about three kilometers to go. Tallent took advantage of the mishap to add gold to the bronze he won four years ago in 1 hour, 22 minutes, 18 seconds. He also won bronze in the event at the 2008 Olympics, and took silver in the 50k walk at the same games in Beijing. "When that happened I just had to take my chance," Tallent said. "I just went for the win." Adams was second in 1:22:31 and Harminder Singh of India earned bronze in 1:23.28. "I hit a blob near the finish and almost went for a six. That ruined my chances," Adams said. "I was pushing hard in second place but once that happened my chances were lost. The road was good otherwise. I think I found the only bad part of the track." Jo Jackson of England won the women's 20k race, claiming gold in 1:34:22 and end Australian dominance in the event. "The race got very hard towards the last half hour, but I decided to stay with the leaders," Jackson said. "A risk, but in the end it paid off." Clare Tallent of Australia, the wife of Jared Tallent, took silver in 1:36:55 and then walked right into the arms of her husband, who was waiting at the finish line. "When he went past he gave me a 'Come on,' and that was really good," Claire Tallent said of her husband. Jared Tallent said the couple always gives each other a boost. "We try to help each other out. She helps me, I help her," Jared Tallent said. "It's great." Grace Njue of Kenya won bronze in 1:37:49. Australian women had won the five previous 20k race walks in Commonwealth Games history. There were seven finals in the evening session, including in the heptathlon, the women's steeplechase and the men's 400. In the morning session at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Louise Hazel reclaimed the lead in the seven-discipline heptathlon by winning the long jump with a leap of 6.44 meters. Hazel now has 4,585 points with only the javelin and 800 meters remaining. Jessica Zelinka, who led overnight, was in second place with 4,511 points. She was also second in the long jump at 6.01. The men completed the first round of the 200-meter heats. Jared Connaughton of Canada was the only one to run 21 seconds, clocking 20.97 in the third heat. The 400 hurdles, both men and women, also started. But in between, a dog ran onto the track and into the infield, crossing the finish line before making it onto the grass. After a few moments, two workers ran out onto the infield to chase down the dog. However, the canine visitor evaded the chasers, to the roar of the crowd, and then ran out the tunnel near the 100-meter starting line. Stray dogs are all over the streets of New Delhi, but seldom cause much problems for the city's inhabitants. – AP