Rew 16th in gruelling race walk

Seasoned New Zealand race walker Quentin Rew turned in yet another strong performance to finish 16th in the strength-sapping 50km walk today.

Rew, 37, is at his third Olympics. He was 27th in London in 2012 and improved to 12th in Rio five years ago.

His record is remarkably consistent – he has three top 12 performances at world championships as well.

The heat in Tokyo during the Olympics has been oppressive, but Rew seemed to handle it well. He was in the middle of the pack through most of the journey and picked up a few places over the final few kilometres.

His time was 3min 37.33s, which was 7min 25s behind gold medallist David Tomala of Poland. Jonathan Hilbert (Germany) and Evan Dunfee (Canada) picked up the silver and bronze medals.

Rew is from Wellington, but in 2015 moved to Melbourne, though he has continued to represent New Zealand with pride at major championships.