Work pays off for Loughnane

OLIVE LOUGHNANE delivered on the promise shown at last year’s Olympic Games when she won the silver medal in the women’s 20k walk at the world championships in Berlin yesterday.

The Olympic champion, Russia’s Olga Kaniskina, become the first woman in history to win back-to-back world championship walk titles in the shadow of the historic Brandenburg Gate but the Irish woman stole the show as she emerged from a ferocious battle with China’s Hong Liu to finish second in 1:28.58.

It was an historic weekend for race walking as the organisation departed from the traditional start and finish inside the host stadium and located the line at the famous landmark.