Australian Jared Tallent Wins Silver Medal At IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships

Australian race walker Jared Tallent won a silver medal at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships in Rome on Saturday.

Jared Tallent Wins Silver Medal In 50km Walk

Tallent, 31, finished the 50km race in 3:42:36 behind Italian winner Alex Schwazer (3:39:00). He will soon return home to finally receive his London 2012 Olympic gold medal.

The Australian said the race was an important one as he looks ahead to the Olympics in Rio in August.

“I’ve had a rough start to the year and this is a great turn around,” he said. “It all started to come together at altitude and to come away with this amazing performance today shows me that I am back on track for Rio. This is the ideal stepping stone for the Olympic Games.”

Tallent will now head to the Australian Institute of Sports base in Varese, Italy before a race in La Coruna, Spain, which will be his final race ahead of the Rio Games. He will then receive his Olympic gold medal from the London 2012 Games in Melbourne on June 17, nearly four years (exactly 1,046 days) after he crossed the line second behind Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin in the 50km walk.

Tallent was elevated to gold earlier this year in March when Kirdyapkin was stripped of the medal after being caught in a slew of positive drug tests from Russian athletes.

Coincidentally enough, Schwazer returned to the sport just nine days ago after a three-year, nine-month suspension for taking banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO) — a hormone that controls red blood cell production. His initial four-year ban was reduced after he cooperated with anti-doping authorities, allowing him to compete at this year’s Rio Olympics.

“I can’t wait to get my medal in Melbourne,” said Tallent. “It will be the ultimate motivation to have it before heading overseas again and I can’t wait to share it with my family and friends.”

ROME, ITALY – MAY 08: Jared Tallent is supported during the 50KM Race Walk at IAAF Race Walking Team Campionship Rome 2016, on May 7, 2016 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images for IAAF)