Liu Hong of China sets WR in women's 50K race walk

Published Mar. 9, 2019 8:54 a.m. ET

HUANGSHAN, China (AP) — Liu Hong of China has set a world record in the women's 50-kilometer race walk, becoming the first woman to finish the event in under 4 hours.

Liu, the 20K Olympic champion who was competing in her first 50K race, clocked 3 hours, 59 minutes, 15 seconds at the Chinese Race Walk Grand Prix on Saturday. That shaved more than five minutes off the previous mark of 4:04:36, held by China's Liang Rui.

Li Maocuo also beat the previous record, finishing second in 4:03:51.

For Liu, it was only her third race since returning from a two-year break for maternity leave.