ECUADOR ATHLETE PERFORMS CRISTIANO RONALDO'S ICONIC CELEBRATION ON THE FINISH LINE AFTER WINNING OLYMPIC GOLD IN THE MEN'S 20KM RACE WALK IN PARIS

  • Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is renowned for his 'SIU' celebration 
  • Brian Daniel Pintado took gold in the men's race walking with a time of 1:18:55
  • He proceded to emulate the iconic celebration after crossing the finish line

Ecuador's Brian Daniel Pintado claimed gold in the men's 20km race walk on Thursday morning in Paris and celebrated by copying Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'SIU' celebration as he crossed the finish line. 

Pintado, 29, crossed the finish line and took a moment to catch his breath before jumping up in the air and throwing his hands down by his sides, emulating the Portuguese football icon. 

The Ecuadorian, who clinched silver in the men's 35km walking race at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, had also competed at the 2016 and 2020 Games. 

In Rio, he finished 37th place with a time of 1:23:44, but on Thursday he sped ahead of the chasing pack to record a time of 1:18:55 in Paris. 

Brazil's Caio Bonfim toook second place, coming in 14 seconds behind the Ecuadorian while Spain's Alvaro Martin took Bronze with a time of 1:19:11.

Team GB were represented by Callum Wilkinson in the race, a gold medal winner in the 10km race walk at the World Junior Championships in 2016. 

But the 27-year-old finished 39th in the field with a time of 1:20:31, one minute and 36 seconds back from Pintado. 

It was though a historic achievement for Ecuador, with Pintado clinching their first medal at the Paris Olympics and the delegations fourth gold medal in Olympic history. 

Pintado delivered an excllent race, finishing well ahead of his competitors. 

He was overcome with emotion upon realising his accomplishment, with the Ecuadorian letting out a huge roar, before heading to a television screen where he celebrated with his family via a video call. 

Race walking is one of the more unique events at the Olympic games. It sees competitors walk long distances as quickly as they can over a course of 20km. 

In past iterations of the Games, some races had been contested over a greulling 50km, but that format has since been dropped form the 2024 Olympics. 

The sport is believed to have originated in the Victorian era where punters would bet on a competitor, who would walk alongside horse-driven coaches, to see who would win. 

There are strict rules to the format of this sport, though. Competitors are not allowed to run. Competitors must always have one foot in contact with the ground at all times as 'visible to the human eye'. 

When athletes run, competitors will likely often remove both feet off the ground during their sprint. 

During the race walk, athletes will be penalised if they are seen to bee 'lifting' both feet from the ground at once.  

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2024-08-01T08:23:47Z