International athletes gathered early on Saturday to compete in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Taicang, Jiangsu province.

Competitors from far and wide attended the event, representing countries including Australia, New Zealand and Iran. Taicang citizens watched the games despite the light rain and cold weather on the day.

Mexico's Padro Daniel Gomez secured the gold medal in the 20km men's race with a time of 1:20:52, becoming the first overseas athlete to win a title at the Challenge since its inception in 2011.

The win was Gomez's first international victory in men's events, according to the IAAF.

His compatriot Ever Palma and the Swedish Perseus Karlstrom finished second and third respectively, while Chinese Wang Rui came in fourth.

The winner of the women's 20km event was 24-year-old Chinese athlete Wang Yingliu. She clocked a time of 1:30:51; just 31 seconds shy of the personal best she set in Beijing in 2015.

Chinese Xie Lijuan and Hungarian Viktoria Madarasz won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

The National Race Walk Grand Prix's Taicang leg kicked off on the afternoon of April 23. Athletes from 13 provincial-level regions and the national youth team joined the competition.

Zheng Ke from Shandong province won the men's 30km race on April 24, the second and final day of the grand prix.

By Liu Sitong and edited by Jacob Hooson

Competitors battle it out at the fifth IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Taicang on April 23. [Photo from Taicangdaily.com]