WCH Tokyo 25 brushstroke (© World Athletics)
Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists
2023: 1 Alvaro Martin (ESP) 2:24:30, 2 Brian Pintado (ECU) 2:24:34, 3 Masatora Kawano (JPN) 2:25:12
2022: 1 Massimo Stano (ITA) 2:23:14, 2 Masatora Kawano (JPN) 2:23:15, 3 Perseus Karlstrom (SWE) 2:23:44
2019 (50km): 1 Yusuke Suzuki (JPN) 4:04:20, 2 João Vieira (POR) 4:04:59, 3 Evan Dunfee (CAN) 4:05:02
Fastest winning time in World Athletics Championships history
2:23:14 - Massimo Stano (ITA), 2022
Slowest winning time in World Athletics Championships history
2:24:30 - Álvaro Martin (ESP), 2023
Best marks on Japanese soil
2:21:47 - 1 Masatora Kawano (JPN) Takahata 27.10.2024
2:23:13 - 1 Tomohiro Noda (JPN) Wajima 16.04.2023
2:24:24 - 2 Satoshi Maruo (JPN) Takahata 27.10.2024
Best marks on Asian soil
2:21:47 - 1 Masatora Kawano (JPN) Takahata 27.10.2024
2:22:55 - 1 He Xianghong (CHN) Huangshan 04.03.2023
2:23:13 - 1 Tomohiro Noda (JPN) Wajima 16.04.2023
Biggest winning margin
0:04 - 2023 Alvarto Martin (ESP) 2:24:30 / Brian Pintado (ECU) 2:24:34
Smallest winning margin
0:01 - 2022 Massimo Stano (ITA) 2:23:14 / Masatora Kawano (JPN) 2:23:15
Multiple winners
1997/01/03 - Robert Korzeniowski (POL) - 50km race walk
Winners by country (35km/50km race walk)
3 - Poland
2 - German Democratic Republic
2 - Russia
2 - Italy
2 - Spain
1 - Soviet Union
1 - Finland
1 - Australia
1 - Norway
1 - Ireland
1 - Slovakia
1 - France
1 - Japan
Five historic facts
• Robert Korzeniowski (POL) remains the only athlete to win multiple world titles in the 35km or 50km race walk
• The 50km race walk was replaced with the 35km race walk at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon where Massimo Stano (ITA) became the first ever world champion in the discipline
• Yusuke Suzuke (JPN) was the last winner of the 50km race walk in Doha in 2019
• João Vieira (POR) will compete in a record 14th World Championships in Tokyo. He has competed in every World Championships since 1999. He won 20km race walk bronze in 2013 and 50km race walk silver in 2019
• The 50km race walk at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo was held in 97 percent humidity according to some reports. “It was like a sauna with 11 million people in it,” said bronze medallist Hartwig Gauder
Potential storylines
• With 2022 champion Massimo Stano (ITA) absent due to a hamstring injury and Alvaro Martin (ESP) retired, a new champion will be crowned in the 35km race walk
• Having won medals at the last two World Championships, can Masatora Kawano (JPN) finally win gold on home soil in Tokyo?
• Can Evan Dunfee (CAN) finally win his first global title? He has finished inside the top six on seven separate occasions in major championships at either the 20km, 35km or 50km race walk. "The Japanese people really embrace race walking. They're big race walk fans. Their depth in race walk is huge. They have a medal favourite tomorrow for the race so they are going to come out in droves...it’s really different going into a race not as the underdog. I'm really used to going in there with that underdog attitude. This time, I'm going into it as one of the favourites. It’s a bit of a different mental game but I am prepared for," he said.
