British Columbia

Race walker Evan Dunfee opens up about controversial bump to 4th place at Rio Olympics

Olympian opens the doors to his Richmond, B.C. home for a live CBC Vancouver broadcast via Facebook.

'To me it just seemed like a non-issue.'

Some wanted race walker Evan Dunfee to be Canada's flag bearer in the closing ceremony in Rio. (Ian Walton/Getty Images)

For a single afternoon, Richmond, B.C.'s Evan Dunfee was an Olympic bronze medallist.

The race walker was eventually bumped back to fourth place in the 50-kilometre event. Although he could have appealed the decision, he chose instead to accept the results.

"To me it just seemed like a non-issue," he said. "As soon as I saw the video, I knew."

Canada's Evan Dunfee is given water by officials after finishing the men's 50km race walk. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

CBC Vancouver's Lien Yeung spoke with Dunfee at his home just hours after he returned from the Rio Olympics.

From the calm of his backyard and from inside his childhood bedroom, the 25-year-old reflected on the fateful moment of his race that gripped national attention — and left many calling him an inspiration.

He explained how mental focus is almost as important as physical training in his sport and why his room is the culmination of everything he's worked on in the last eight years.