China’s Yang Jiayu claimed gold in the women’s 20km race walk at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, pulling away from the field after the 5km mark and barely looking back en route to a victory that fulfilled a promise made to her late father. Yang crossed the finish line in one hour 25 minutes and 54 seconds, Spain’s Maria Perez secured the silver medal in 1:26.19 and Australia’s Jemima Montag won bronze in 1:26.25. “I never mentioned this before but I promised him (her father) I would win gold,” Yang said. “Now I have finally done it, I am very proud of myself.”