Evan Dunfee causes Canadians to go wild for race walk
Strange twists spark plenty of reaction from Canadians
By Aaron Stern, CBC Sports
While Canadian race walker Evan Dunfee walked the walk on Friday in Rio, Canadian fans talked the talk by supporting the Olympian in his grueling 50-kilometre race walk event.
In a sport that does not get much attention, people seemed to be captivated by Dunfee's performance along with the controversial decision to award then take away the bronze medal.
The race walker did just about everything (except for run) and was in first place for a solid portion of the race, sparking lots of reaction:
- WATCH: Canadian racewalk co-leader Evan Dunfee encourages French race walker to carry on
- LIVE SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Race walking is seriously cool right now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a>'s Evan Dunfee currently leading with about an hour to go. <a href="https://t.co/6zgIMqLLdM">https://t.co/6zgIMqLLdM</a>
—@MonikaPlatekHoly crap, Evan Dunfee is in this!!! (Yes, I just got up)
—@DanielSquizzatoEvan Dunfee, pride of the Richmond Kajaks track & field club, is in the lead for the men's 50km racewalk. WOW.
—@evaloisHe eventually fell to fourth place and couldn't seem to regain his stride after taking an elbow in a rare race-walking physical clash.
A bump between <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> Dunfee and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JPN?src=hash">#JPN</a> in the final kilometres in the men's 50km race walk. <a href="https://t.co/NeKSUj4yPN">https://t.co/NeKSUj4yPN</a> <a href="https://t.co/JDwKqQRwhC">https://t.co/JDwKqQRwhC</a>
—@CBCOlympicsAt the end of the race, Dunfee collapsed in exhaustion:
Pure exhaustion from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> Evan Dunfee in the 50km race walk. He finishes 4th. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/NeKSUj4yPN">https://t.co/NeKSUj4yPN</a> <a href="https://t.co/vkMjTbipOo">https://t.co/vkMjTbipOo</a>
—@CBCOlympicsPeople were amazed and proud of the great strength and endurance the Canadian showed throughout the race:
Inspiring way to start my morning watching the gutsy performance of <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCanada">@TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a>. Congrats! All of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada?src=hash">#Canada</a> is so proud!
—@CatrionaldHuge respect for you, <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a> - you had a tremendous race & never gave up! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> appreciates your effort, fight & drive! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a>
—@leepaquetI have never seen anyone fight so hard, or want it more than <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a> did in that race. Gave it everything he had & never gave up.
—@Jessica_FurlanAbsolute beast of a race <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a>. You fought till the very end. Get well soon my friend! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/can?src=hash">#can</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/racewalk?src=hash">#racewalk</a>
—@KelceyBradeTSNDunfee would eventually protest the race because of the elbow bump he received. His protest was initially successful and he was awarded a bronze medal but after an appeal by the Japanese race walker, he was stripped of the medal. This medal rewarding then stripping madness created even more chaos and reaction:
It is absolutely ridiculous that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EvanDunfee?src=hash">#EvanDunfee</a> gets his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bronze?src=hash">#Bronze</a> medal stripped. Both should just get the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bronze?src=hash">#Bronze</a> medal.
—@Casey_DulsonSucks that <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a>'s medal got taken away. They should have issued a ruling after considering all appeals, not reward and take back.
—@vancouver_dudeDevastated for <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDunfee">@EvanDunfee</a>. Canada is still incredibly proud of all you have accomplished. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bronzeinourhearts?src=hash">#bronzeinourhearts</a>
—@KaitHarmanWhat did you think about Dunfee's performance? Are you now a bigger fan of race walking? What do you think about the decision to reward and then take away his medal? Tweet us @CBCOlympics!