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GWANGJU, South Korea — In perhaps the biggest win of his career to date, BYU track and field standout Shaq Walker used a late push to win the gold medal in the 800-meter run at the World University Games in Korea Sunday.
Walker finished with a winning time of 1 minute, 48.05 seconds in the final heat, beating Morocco's Abdelati El Guesse (1:49.29) and South Africa's Rynardt Van Rensburg (1:49.30).
The BYU sophomore previously set a new school record in the 800 meters with a 1:45.58 June 30 at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where Walker finished sixth overall.
Walker nearly grabbed a silver medal in the 4x100-meter relay as well. However, his squad, which also included Utah State senior sprinter Cole Lambourne, was disqualified for an illegal push-off on one of the exchanges.
"It was really fun overall," Lambourne said in a statement provided by Utah State. "I'm just disappointed to be coming home empty-handed when we earned a medal."
Recent Utah State graduate Chari Hawkins placed fourth in the women's heptathlon with 5,707 points Sunday.
BYU's Shea Martinez won the bronze medal in the women's 800.