BEIJING (AP) -Olga Kaniskina of Russia has won the women's 20-kilometer race walk gold medal in a dominating start-to-finish performance in wet conditions at the Beijing Olympics.

The 23-year-old Kaniskina opened up a 35-meter lead before leaving the Bird's Nest stadium at the start of the race and continued to build on it across the course until finishing in an Olympic record 1 hour, 26 minutes, 31 seconds.

Kjersti Tysse Platzer of Norway, who was second at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, finished 36 seconds behind to claim another silver medal.

Elisa Rigaudo of Italy got bronze in 1:27.12.

Kaniskina won the world championships with a similarly commanding performance in Osaka, Japan last August and went within a second of the world record at the World Race Walking Cup in May.