Evan Dunfee has landed on the podium at the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.
The Richmond native teammed up with Inaki Gomez and Ben Thorne to win bronze in the men's 20-kilometre team race walking competition on Tuesday. Their combined time of four hours, 20 minutes and 35 seconds (4: 20: 35) left them behind only Russia (4: 04: 31) and Ukraine (4: 08: 09).
Gomez, a 2012 Olympian, was the first Canadian to cross the finish line in a time of 1: 22: 29, which was good for fifth position in the individual standings.
He had also placed fifth in the event at the 2011 FISU Games in Shenzhen, China. Thorne was 16th in a personal best 1: 26: 59, while Dunfee was 21st in 1: 31: 07.
All three Canadians were aiming for top-10 finishes individually but Thorne and Dunfee, both UBC students, had to slow their pace after committing two fouls in the first half of the race.
"It's great to win a medal but right now it's hard for me to truly appreciate it because I'm pretty disappointed with my individual result," said Dunfee, who earned his second caution near the midway point of the race. "I felt so good today, possibly the best I've ever felt at the 10km mark. But like Ben, I knew I had to shut it down for the team."
The trio will be back in Russia next month for the IAAF world athletics championships in Moscow (August 10-18). Gomez and Thorne will compete in the 20km, while Dunfee qualified for the 50km event.
Canada had won three Universiade medals in race walking in the past. Guillaume Leblanc claimed gold in the 20km in 1983 in Edmonton and bronze in the same event in 1985 in Kobe, Japan, while Ann Peel captured bronze in the 5km in 1987 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.
