Paris 2024: Gathimba's hope of an Olympic race walk medal shattered in France

Samuel Gathimba in action at Paris Olympics. [Kelly Ayodi]

Race walker Samuel Gathimba's dream of an Olympic medal was shattered on Thursday morning after the Commonwealth bronze medallist finished 22nd in Paris.

Gathimba was the sole Kenyan man in the 20km race walk showdown in the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The race walk event was the first athletics event in the Olympic Games which is in its sixth day.

The three-time African champion had hopes of adding an Olympic medal to his wall cabinet, but the competition proved too tough.

He stuck in a leading pack at the initial stages of the walk but faded away after the 15km mark.

No race walker had pulled away from the leading pack at 2km.

At 10km, Gathimba was at 16th place and was still walking behind the leaders that comprised defending champion Massimo Stano of Italy.

Stano had displayed supremacy, taking the lead past the half mark before he was overpowered by the newly crowned champion Brian Pintado of Ecuador and Brazil's Caio Bonfim who bagged silver in the race walk contest which was postponed by half an hour due to harsh weather conditions.

Alvaro Martin of Spain took bronze while Stano, the defending champion, finished fourth.

No athlete has successfully defended a race walk title in the men's competition.

Gathimba walked across the 12km mark at 14th place, before stepping past three other athletes to the 11th position at 14km.

The Kenyan race walker appeared to limb before dropping to 14th position at 15km.

A podium finish would have seen 36-year-old Gathimba make history as the first Kenyan to bag an Olympic medal.

A stormy weather at the French capital forced the rescheduling of the men's race walk event from 8.30am East African time to 9am.