Walker broke stride but otherwise unbowed
Bumped out of bronze in Rio, athlete has become Canada’s gold standard
As un-Canadian as it may sound, Own The Podium has been a tremendously successful initiative in pushing Canada’s Olympic athletes toward medals. But it so rigidly defines success that even narrow podium misses are usually, by definition, viewed as failures, even when they represent spectacular performance.
Nobody remembers who finished fourth, right? But after the Summer Games in Rio, no one should forget Evan Dunfee, the Richmond race walker whose legs may have failed him but whose heart never did.
The 26-year-old, who has helped Canada become a serious power in a sport that some of us used to deride as ridiculous, was on his way to an Olympic bronze medal four weeks ago in the men’s 50-kilometre race walk when he was bumped with a kilometre to go while being passed by Japan’s Hirooki Arai.
The jolt, more than three and a half hours into an event when the humidex read 35 C, broke Dunfee’s concentration, then his stride. It might have broken his spirit, too, but Dunfee regained composure and muscle control just enough to finish fourth in a Canadian-record 3:41:38 — more than two minutes faster than his previous personal-best.
Arai finished 14 seconds ahead but was soon disqualified and Dunfee was named the bronze- medal winner.
But the Japanese team successfully appealed the race referee’s decision and, hours after the event, Dunfee was informed he would receive no medal for the performance of his life.
Did he argue? Was he angry? Did he rush to his social media accounts to moan about officials or opponents or injustice? Did he at least file a counter-appeal, as was his right?
No. After receiving medical treatment, he released a statement through Athletics Canada that said, in part: “Contact is part of our event … and I don’t believe this was malicious or done with intent. I would not have been able to receive that medal with a clear conscience and it isn’t something I would have been proud of. I will never allow myself to be defined by the accolades I receive, (but) rather the integrity that I carry through life.”
Then Dunfee went to the closing ceremonies and came home. And his inbox overflowed.
“The support has been overwhelmingly positive,” Dunfee said Wednesday. “Apart from anything else, to have this exposure for our event is phenomenal. It was a fantastic race on so many levels. There were so many positive storylines, and it was a clean (doping-free) race.
“You never know how experience is going to change a person. The person who made that statement is the person I am, and my journey in sport made that person. Knowing there will be more Olympics and more opportunities definitely makes it a little easier.
“The only thing I regret about that statement is (Canadian communications staff) asked if I wanted to publish it on my own website, and I said, ‘No, just put it on the Athletics Canada website.’ And it got over 100,000 views. That would have been great traffic for my website.”
You can find him online at dunfeewalks.ca and on Twitter or Facebook. Or training on the Stanley Park seawall with Canadian teammates Inaki Gomez and Ben Thorne, the world championship 20-kilometre bronze medallist who helped Dunfee draft his statement. Or just drive around Richmond and you may see Dunfee out for a walk, arms pumping, hips swivelling.
He was honoured at the Richmond World Festival two weekends ago when schoolchildren told Dunfee what his sportsmanship meant to them. He signed autographs and shook hands for more than an hour.
He has a season-ending team event in China to train for, and has updated his athletics resume and sponsor cover letter in the hope of attracting more corporate support.
Dunfee said it meant a lot to him that Japan’s Arai, after being disqualified, apologized to the Canadian.
“Though a translator, I said: ‘Why are you apologizing?’” Dunfee said. “We had a good conversation. He seems like a really nice guy.”
They spoke again in the athletes’ village, which is where Dunfee was congratulated by Canadian Olympians and team officials like Curt Harnett, Beckie Scott and Clara Hughes.
“That was the most ridiculous thing for me, having people that I grew up idolizing and watching, these incredible names that mean so much in Canada, telling me about being a true Olympian and that this was what it was all about,” Dunfee said. “It was a little bit of a bigger story than I would have guessed.
“There are a whole host of things I could have done better in the race that would have potentially put me in a position where that bump wouldn’t have happened because I’d have been at the front. It was a winnable race for me if I’d played my tactics better. Those things I think about. But the aftermath of what happened with Hirooki and I? I haven’t once second-guessed that stuff.”
Canada won 22 medals at the Olympics and Dunfee didn’t get any. He couldn’t match what sprinter Andre De Grasse did on the track or what Penny Oleksiak did in the pool or Derek Drouin’s perfect night in the high jump pit. But Dunfee’s performance, before and after the 50K on Aug. 19, was still a great moment in Canadian athletics.
Considering what came later, it’s easy to forget that earlier in his race, as Dunfee was about to take the lead, he slowed and put a hand on the back of Frenchman Yohann Diniz, who had stopped in physical duress. Dunfee encouraged him and walked beside him a while, then moved ahead. He’s still going, walking the walk, head held high.
I would not have been able to receive that medal with a clear conscience … I will never allow myself to be defined by the accolades I receive, (but) rather the integrity that I carry through life. Evan Dunfee