Ballarat’s most high profile Olympian Jared Tallent will have the weight of expectation on his shoulders when he takes to the track in the 50km walk on Friday evening.
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The 31-year-old will be hoping to claim his second Olympic gold medal for the year, after he was awarded with the gold for the London games when Russia’s Sergey Kirdyapkin was stripped of the medal for doping in June.
Tallent was also able to claim a gold medal for the IAAF Race Walking Team Championship which was held in Rome in May after Italian Alex Schwazer was also stripped of his award for doping.
With the Rio Games fast drawing to a close, Tallent remains one of Australia’s strongest chances of claiming gold in what has been a disappointing Olympics.
As of Thursday, Australia had claimed just seven gold medals, none of which had come from athletics.
Tallent’s preparation has been hampered by a hamstring injury which stopped the athlete from taking part in the 20km race, with fellow Australian Dane Bird-Smith managing to claim a bronze medal in the event on Saturday.
Speaking after pulling out of the race, Tallent described the injury as a “niggle” which could have become inflamed if he competed in the shorter event.
“It's definitely not the end of the world, I haven't done the work for the 20k to be competitive anyway. The training for the 50k is very different.
Tallent had previously earned a bronze in the 20km event at the 2008 Beijing games, as well as a silver in the 50km in Beijing.
Meanwhile Tallent’s younger sister Rachel will make her Olympic debut in the 20km walk on Saturday morning.
