Beijing: Liu Hong won China’s first gold medal of the Beijing world athletics championships on Friday after she struck a pact with her “little sister” Lu Xiuzhi in the women’s 20 kilometres walk.

The world recordholder and title favourite broke clear early alongside Lu, and they built a massive lead in the roasting morning heat before Liu won in one hour 27.45 minutes - with countrywoman Lu right behind her.

“Near the end of the race we spoke about whether we were going to really fight it out to the finish line, because we knew we already had a gold for China,” said Liu, suggesting seniority may have been a factor in the result. “But my little sister said, ‘Let’s go into the stadium as we are.’”

Wild cheers greeted the 28-year-old Liu and Lu, seven years her junior, as they entered the Bird’s Nest to complete a one-two finish for the Chinese, who had won three silver medals and one bronze in the first six days of competition.

Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Olyanovska took bronze, 28 seconds behind.

Draped in Chinese flags, Liu and Lu jogged around the sun-baked track together on a lap of honour, stopping to pose for photographs for joyous local fans.

Liu, sporting dark glasses and canary yellow sneakers, had previously collected two world bronze medals and a silver, beaten to gold in 2011 by Russian Olga Kaniskina who has since been banned for doping. She finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“There was a lot of pressure but I was confident in this mission,” said Liu, from China’s southeast province of Jiangxi. “When we hit the front at the start I didn’t think we were going that quick but nobody followed us, so we just carried on. It’s a dream to win the gold.”

The Chinese duo opened a 26-second gap by the halfway point and as they weaved in and out of pesky back-markers on approach to the stadium they were nattering as if out on a morning stroll.

“I came into the championships fit, and even after breaking the world record I was in good condition,” said Liu, who set a new world best of 1:24:38 in La Coruna two months ago. “I have the best medical team in China behind me so I was very confident.”

Liu’s victory made up for last weekend’s disappointment when Spain’s Miguel Angel Lopez broke Chinese hearts by reeling in Wang Zhen to snatch gold in the men’s 20km walk.

“I’m very happy to win the silver medal in my first big championships,” said Lu.