Elena LASHMANOVA (RUS), GOLD - 44:11.90 (WJL)
Everything was done correctly. The tempo, the race timing was good.
We thought at the beginning that the two Russians would be right beside each other.
I felt very good. Fantastic.
I could have done better, but this is good.
Anna LUKYANOVA (RUS), SILVER - 44:17.98 (PB)
I’m feeling very sad. I wanted to be first, and I came second. We were good as a team, very good, and then I had a few problems. It’s a technical sport. The last two laps were difficult, and I was very tired. I wanted to leave the race.
Two months ago, I was in the world race walking cup in Mexico . I want to be ready for the next junior championship race.
Kumiko OKADA (JPN), BRONZE - 45:56.15
It was really hard. It was like a chasing game.
[When I was passed while in 3rd position] At that point, I had a lot of stamina so I knew how to handle it and I knew I could catch them later.
For me, catching up is easy. It's harder to stay in front and have all the rest in back. I'd rather stay in back and have a break and later on catch up with a lot of stamina.
[In the eighth kilometre] For me, it was the last resort, where I said, OK, I'm going to put all of my energy into it. This is the point, the turning point, where I'm going to make third place for sure.
I'm so happy [to medal].
[Having the world leading time] gave me a lot of confidence but I knew the Russians are strong opponents. It's just disappointing I couldn't beat the Russians, but still, it builds up my confidence for the next race.
I'm competing in mid-September in Tokyo.
Antonella PALMISANO (ITA)- 5th - 46:08.57
I tried to do my personal best, but it's OK, I'm happy.
It was a little bit hot.
Because I won in Mexico, I wanted to do very well here, but I know the Russians are very strong. But there's next time.
Anne VOYER (CAN) – 23rd – 59:53.24
I feel a little tired for sure, 10,000 metres is long, but I’m very happy to have finished the race. It is difficult to motivate yourself mentally for the whole race but I’m very happy to have finished. The cheers and encouragement (from the spectators) really helped me.
For the next two years I will train very hard to be able to do it again. This year I didn’t meet the 10,000m standard but they were taking the first two Canadians. The standard is 9 minutes faster than my time today and I am going to train hard to achieve that so I will be able to compete at the Juniors in two years.
