EXTRA: JAPAN "WINS BACK" MEDAL IN MEN'S 50-KM RACEWALKING

A few hours ago I wrote Japan had momentarily "won" the first medal in Olympic racewalking as Hirooki Arai finished third for a bronze medal in Men's 50-km Racewalking but was "disqualified" due to an accident at 48km.

The accident happened when Arai was walking from behind Canada's Dunfee and had a physical contact as he passed him by. It seems Arai's right elbow and Dunfees left contacted for a moment, both tossed back a little and regained position in a matter of seconds,

Dunfee had a trouble controlling his right leg after the contact but repositioned himself trailing a new meters behind Arai.

That was all that happened then, and there seemed no intention on either side to obstruct the other's movement. But the Canadian team lodged a protect to the effect that Arai had got in the way of Dunfee and Arai was "declared" disqualified.

My previous episode reported the moments after the announcement, unaware of the reversed decision that followed in less than an hour.

Well, it all stands now that Arai is officially qualified to have finished third in the disputed race and won a bronze medal for the first time in the history of Japan's racewalking.

The event was really a rare one for an Olympic race result turning once and returning again that way - and a rare one also for my writing career restating a story once and restating back again the way I had to do this time.

In the process I observed Arai at the peak of excitement and in the depth of despair all at once in a matter of minutes. The nature of the sport as it is, he must have had a rare experience of bursting with joy and of dropping dead with disappointment in so short a while.

At the end of the day, Arai survived the ordeal and presented himself before TV with the broadest of smiles. He is sure to be remembered as the pioneer Olympian to win a medal in racewalking.

Good show, Arai! (Nathan Shiga)