Both Huancayo-born athletes covered a distance of 42.19 kilometers, divided into four stretches: two by Rodriguez and two by Garcia.
This event made its debut at the current Olympics.
Cesar Rodriguez was the one who started the competition, covering the first 11.39 kilometers. The Peruvian started well, but as time went on, he fell back from the leading group.
Despite his effort, Rodriguez came in 12th place, with a time of 44 minutes and 12 seconds, passing the first relay to Kimberly Garcia.
Kimi, who covered 10 kilometers in her first stint, set a good pace from the start in the Trocadéro area, and it showed as she moved from 40 seconds behind the leader to joining the leading group after taking over the baton.
The Peruvian took the lead in the competition at the 16-kilometer mark, alternating that position with contenders from China and Ecuador.
Garcia managed her energy without reducing her pace, which helped her stay in the leading group and pass the baton back to Rodriguez in fourth place.
In this second stint, Cesar had to cover the final 10 kilometers. At this point, he maintained fifth place up to the 26-kilometer mark, behind leaders Daniel Pintado (Ecuador), Alvaro Martin (Spain), and Massimo Stano (Italy).
Kimi was very close to winning a medal
At the 28.4-kilometer mark, Rodriguez remained in fifth place and handed over the baton in the final segment to Kimberly Garcia, who was in sixth place, 1 minute and 40 seconds behind the leaders.
In the final stage, the Peruvian female athlete covered 10.8 kilometers and, as in her first stint, started with a strong pace to try to regain positions.
In the end, Spaniards Maria Perez-Alvaro Martin (2:50:31) became the first Olympic champions in this event, finishing ahead of Ecuadorians Glenda Morejon-Daniel Pintado (2:51:22) and Australians Jemima Montag-Rhydian Cowley (2:51:38).