New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) India's Harminder Singh won a surprise bronze in the men's 20-km walk at the Commonwealth Games here Saturday.
The 26-year-old Harminder clocked a personal best of 1:23:27. Australian Jared Tallent clinched the gold medal with a new Games record of 1:22:18. Another Australian Luke Adams clinched silver, clocking 1:22:31.
Tallent, a dual Beijing Olympics gold medallist, was trailing Adams till the last two km. For the third time in three editions of the Commonwealth Games, Adams took the silver medal.
In the women's section, also coveriong 20 km, India's Rani Yadav finished sixth, clocking 1:42:54 while Sandhya Jolly came eighth (1:51:44).
England's Jo Jackson took the gold in this event, clocking 1:34:22 and Australian Claire Tallent (1:36:55), wife of Jared, got the silver. Kenya's Wanjiru Grace (1:37:49) grabbed the bronze.
"My goal was to get on the podium. I just wanted to do my best. This is really special," said Claire.
"When he went past, he gave me a 'come on' and that was really good," Claire said about her husband Jared.
England's Jo Jackson grabbed the gold medal clocking 1:34:22, breaking an Australian stranglehold on the Commonwealth Games Women's Road Walks. Until Delhi 2010, an Australian had won the gold in each edition of the Games since the Women's Walk came in as a 10km event in Auckland in 1990. Delhi 2010 is Jackson's most significant victory. She grabbed an English flag and waved it joyfully as she crossed the line.
"I am very, very happy with the win. I was the Gold medal favourite, so I did my job. I was never a medal favourite before, so the pressure was on me to win the Gold," said Jackson.