This wasn’t how a Canadian race walker thought he’d make a splash at the London Olympics

Inaki Gomez made a splash for Canada at the London Games Saturday but it wasn't in the sport he first dreamed of competing in at an Olympics.

The 24-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., set a Canadian record in the 20-kilometre race walk. His time of one hour, 20 minutes 58 seconds left him 13th.

Ding Chen of China won the gold in 1:18.46

Gomez broke the old record of 1:21,03 set in 2000 by Arturo Huerta.

Gomez moved to Canada with his family from Mexico when he was 11. He began swimming and dreamed of competing in the Olympics in butterfly. That changed seven years ago when he was involved in a car accident.

"It wasn't very hard," Gomez told the Vancouver Province "No real damage to the car. It was just one of those unexpected situations."

Gomez, a Grade 12 student at the time, suffered whiplash and damage to a disc in his neck. He stopped swimming but a track coach suggested he concentrate on race walking.

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Mexico has a strong history in race walking earning nine Olympic medals in the men's events since 1968.

"I'd learned the technique in Mexico," Gomez said. " I was more interested in swimming but I know the situation in Mexico and I'm good friends with the walkers there.

"I just started race walking to stay in shape with the hope of going back into swimming. I made my first national team that summer (2006) with just a couple of months of training. I got excited about that and stuck with it. I've surprised myself and probably a few people."

In other track events Saturday, Justyn Warner of Markham, Ont., advanced to the semifinals of the 100 metres. Warner was the ninth-place finisher running a personal best time of 10.09.

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"The track was fast, blazing fast," Warner told The Canadian Press. "I have to have the race of my life to get into the final and that's my plan.''

Americans Ryan Bailey and Justin Gatlin were the two fastest qualifiers, in 9.88 and 9.97 respectively. Yohan Blake of Jamaica was third in 10.00 while Jamaican teammate and world record-holder Usain Bolt was ninth in 10.09.

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