Top 20 finish for Rio walker Brendan Boyce

Milford’s Brendan Boyce finished in 19th position in today’s grueling 50k walk at the Olympics in Rio.
The Letterkenny AC athlete crossed the line in 3hrs 53mins 59sec in very hot tiring conditions.
The time was just over four minutes of his personal best time.
Speaking after the race Brendan said ‘I’m very happy with that. I was hoping beyond hope to be in the top 16 but that was good.’
Rob Heffernan finished in sixth place. The London bronze medal winner was in contention for a medal for most of the race, but his challenge faded during the final ten kilometres as he finished nearly three minutes off the gold medal winner – Matej Toth of Slovakia.
Australia’s Jared Tallent was second with Japan’s Hirooki Arai in third.
Alex Wright was one of several walkers who withdrew in the searing temperatures after suffering a stomach cramp.