, finishing eighth in the 20-kilometer event— said on Thursday that work and discipline were the driving forces which led her to this sublime moment.
For a moment,
Inga forgot about her fatigue during the women's 20-kilometer race walk to let her happiness flow after having positioned herself among the world's top ten race-walking athletes.
The Peruvian revealed the strategy used throughout the race to avoid losing concentration and stay in the leading group of the competition held at Trocadéro Place, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
"I am extremely happy with the final result. I came in with the mindset of treating it as just another competition to avoid feeling too tense, even though these are my first Olympic Games," Inga told ATV.
"I focused on enjoying it, and now I am left with the joy. Hard work and discipline have brought me to this point," she added.
Inga said
Peru's race walking team (two men and three women) that is in Paris 2024 wanted to win a medal; however, despite giving their all, they were unable to materialize that dream.
"All athletes who are in the top 10 are separated by mere seconds; we are all prepared with the same intensity. I know that all of them are very strong; they are rivals we respect greatly, and today turned out this way," Inga expressed.
"We longed for a medal for our country, but rest assured that we gave it our all. We hope you feel proud. We are also not happy when things don't go our way, but we gave everything we had," she added.
Power in motion
Inga reaffirmed that Peru is a powerful country in race walking, and reiterated her admiration for Mary Luz Andia and Kimberly Garcia with whom she competed earlier today.
"We are a country with a strong presence in race walking; Mary (Andia) and Kimberly (Garcia) are admirable and strong rivals. I am proud to be part of this great team," she pointed out.
Lastly, Inga sent a message to Peruvians: "Thank you very much for that passion and unconditional support. We don't owe anything to anyone, we have worked with sweat, tears, joy; we give our all."
Evelyn Inga recorded a time of 1:28:16, which earned her the eighth position. Thus, she was awarded an Olympic Diploma.
Mary Luz Andia, who was always slightly behind but moved up positions in the final kilometers, finished in 11th place, with a time of 1:29:24.
In turn,
Kimberly Garcia crossed the finish line in 16th position, with a time of 1:30:10.
Chinese athlete Jiayu Yang was the event's winner, dominating the race from start to finish to secure a gold medal (1:25:54). Meanwhile, Spanish athlete Maria Perez took the silver medal (1:26:19), and Australian Jemima Montag finished third (1:26:25).