Canada's Dunfee pulls away to win Commonwealth gold in race walk

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom — Canada's Evan Dunfee says he drew on the support of his loved ones to propel him to a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

The 31-year-old from Richmond, B.C., won the 10,000 metres on Sunday, using a fabulous kick over the final lap to open up a 40-metre gap on his nearest competitor.

He finished in a Commonwealth and Canadian record time of 38 minutes 36.37 seconds, beating his own previous national mark of 38:39.72 set in June of 2021.

"To believe in myself today as much as my friends and family back home believed in me, that was the goal for today, to just come in here and have that same belief as everyone else has in me, and back myself," Dunfee said. "And that's what I did and I'm thrilled."

Canada's 4x400-metre relay of Natassha McDonald, Aiyanna Stiverne, Micha Powell and Kyra Constantine raced to gold. After a thrilling neck-and-neck finish with England, the English were disqualified for a lane violation.

Tammara Thibeault of Montreal won gold in the women's 75-kilogram class of women's boxing later Sunday, beating Rady Adosinda Gramane of Mozambique by unanimous decision.

Dunfee's victory comes after a tough season that saw him struggle with a nagging hamstring injury and lack of motivation largely around the elimination of the 50-kilometre event, in which he won bronze at both last summer's Toky Olympics and the 2019 world championships. Dunfee had lobbied fiercely to keep the event, but it was eventually scrapped from the world and Olympic programs.

"I'm forever going to mourn the loss of the 50K, I think it was just the best event in track and field, the best event there is just showcasing endurance, so I'm always going to miss it, I'm always going to root for it, I'm always going to