Russian Kirdyapkin wins 50km race walk

London, England – Russia's Sergey Kirdyapkin broke the Olympic record in the 50-kilometer race walking event while winning the gold Saturday.

Kirdyapkin finished in 3 hours, 35 minutes and 59 seconds to earn his first Olympic medal. He is a two-time world champion, but failed to finish the event four years ago in Beijing.

The Russian topped the previous Olympic record of 3:37:09, set by Italy's Alex Schwazer in 2008. Schwazer, however, was prevented from taking part in Saturday's race after failing a drug test.

Australia's Jared Tallent repeated as silver medalist, finishing 54 seconds behind Kirdyapkin. At the 2008 games, Tallent also took a bronze in the 20km race walk, but was seventh in that event in London.

The bronze went to China's Si Tianfeng, who completed the 50 kilometers in 3:37:16.