Friday, August 22, 2008 - 3:08 PM

Australian walker Jared Tallent won his second walking medal of the Beijing Olympics today, claiming silver in the men's 50 kilometres walk.

Tallent followed up his bronze medal in the 20km event with a superb performance in tough conditions in Beijing, crossing the line in the Bird's Nest behind Italy's Alex Schwazer.

The Italian set a new Olympic record after finishing in 3 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds, with Tallent coming in 2:18 behind him in 3:39.27.

Russian number one Denis Nizhegorodov won the bronze in 3:40.14.

Tallent's triumph serves to somewhat soften the blow on Australia's athletics team, which lost gold medal walking favourite Nathan Deakes to injury prior to the Games.

Tallent becomes the first Australian to win an Olympic medal in the 50km walk, and the first Australian male in more than 100 years to win more than one track and field medal.

He says missing a team selection last year drove him on.

"I just can't believe it. Everything I've done this year is really prepared for this," he said.

"I missed out on last year's world champs team in the 50km and that made me really determined, which is probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

"I just don't take anything for granted. I worked really hard, not just to make the team but to come away and do well. And I can't believe it. I'm just ecstatic."

Tallent says he had prepared well for the trying conditions.

"Training in the heat tent once a week in Canberra also the climatisation we did in Japan really paid off and made these conditions feel really easy so I am rapt," he said.

The race was down to five men at the 20 km mark with Tallent, Schwazer, China's Li Jianbo, who was appearing in his first global championships, Nizhegorodov and France's European champion Yohann Diniz slightly adrift in fifth.

Schwazer bided his time and then pounced to make what he hoped was the decisive break for gold at around the 42km mark and with 5km to race he had a relatively comfortable 40-second lead over Tallent and Nizhegorodov.

Tallent, who had blasted the Russian 20km winner Valeriy Borchin because of his being a stablemate of several walkers who had failed dope tests, ditched Nizhegorodov shortly after the 45km mark and quickly opened up an unassailable lead over the Russian.

Schwazer was so confident that he had the gold he raised his finger to illustrate he was number one as he passed some cheering Italian fans.