Gurpreet Singh, India’s Olympic Race Walker Withdraws from 50km Race Walk

Gurpreet Singh had slowed down considerably as he crossed the 35km mark and was seen sitting on the sidelines before the medical team rushed to help him.

Tokyo Olympics: India’s Gurpreet Singh has failed to finish the 50km race walk as he withdrew shortly after crossing the 35km walk. This was due to the extremely humid and hot weather conditions at Sapporo Odori Park.

Before withdrawing due to cramps induced by the harsh weather, Gurpreet was among the lowest-ranked runners in the race. As he crossed the milestone of 35kms, he was ranked 51st and had taken a time of 2 hr 55 minutes and 19 seconds just before he withdrew.

The racer slowed his pace considerably after crossing the 35km mark and was seen sitting on the sidelines before the medical team rushed to help him. Although battling extreme cramps, the athlete was not seen in too much trouble.

Weather Conditions at Sapporo Odori Park

As the race started at 5:30 am, the temperature at Sapporo Odori Park stood at a medium 25 degrees, and as the race came to an end, it had risen to the high mark of 30 degrees. Humidity levels were extremely high throughout the event and stood at 80%.

Due to these extreme weather conditions, 12 out of the 59 competing athletes were either disqualified or withdrawn due to cramps, like India’s Gurpreet Singh.

The Honours at the 50km Race Walk

Dawid Tomala of Poland finished the race with the highest honor of a Gold Medal. The polish race walker had a race time of 3 hours, 50 minutes, and 8 seconds. Jonathan Hilbert (3:50:44) of Germany and Evan Dunfee (3:50: 59) of Canada took the silver and bronze, respectively.

India’s Olympic Medal Tally at Tokyo 2021

India’s medal tally at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics stands at five currently with 3 bronzes, 2 silvers, and no gold medal under its name.

Here is who brought home laurels from this year’s Olympics: