text: “The president congratulated me on the first Olympic medal for the country. He told me that everyone had come out on the streets to celebrate the triumph,” said Barrondo, who finished 11 seconds behind China’s Chen Ding. “It was a glorious day for me, but the glory is most of all for my country.”
  In a day of firsts in London the race was won by Chen, who together with his third placed compatriot Wang Zhen were the first Chinese men to win an Olympic medal in a race walking event.