Záhorácka Dvadsiatka

World Athletics Race Walking Tour

Yang Jiayu wins in Rio Maior

Alvaro Martin wins the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña

Qieyang Shenjie wins the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña

All roads lead to Podebrady for the European Race Walking Team Championships &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Sunday (18).
The spa town in the Czech Republic hosts Europe&rsquo;s finest for the third time in a row. There are races at 20km and 35km, but the outstanding duel of the day could well be the women&rsquo;s race at the longer distance.
Spain&rsquo;s double world champion Maria Perez aims for back-to-back titles after winning two years ago in a world record of 2:37:15. But she faces 2021 Olympic 20km race walk champion Antonella Palmisano, who is making her debut at 35km.
As well as Perez, the Italian lines up against Antigoni Ntrismpioti: double gold medallist at the 2022 European Championships in Munich. The Greek eyes a third successive title after winning the inaugural 35km in 2021 before dropping down to win the 20km in 2023.
Even so, top of the 2025 list so far is Palmisano&rsquo;s teammate Eleonora Giorgi with a PB of 2:41:54, set in Turkiye in February. Second best on 2025 times for this race is a third Italian, Federica Curiazzi with 2:41:54.
Spain&rsquo;s Laura Garcia-Caro won&rsquo;t have to worry about Lyudmila Olyanovska pipping her on the line this time. Last year&rsquo;s European 20km race walk bronze medallist, who overtook a startled Garcia-Caro inches before the finish line in Rome, goes in the 20km. The Ukrainian earned team silver in the women&rsquo;s 20km in 2023 and has already posted 1:28:28 in Dudince this year.
However, she&rsquo;s not the fastest 2025 athlete in this race. That honour belongs to Spain&rsquo;s Antia Chamosa with 1:27:55 at the end of March posted at her country&rsquo;s national championships.
Yet another Italian, Alexandrina Mihai, is third ranked with a PB of 1:28:57, recorded at the Italian Championships at the end of March. At only 21, her country&rsquo;s production line of top race walkers looks set to continue.
In the men&rsquo;s 35km, Massimo Stano is odds-on favourite. The Olympic 20km gold medallist in Sapporo four years ago posted a telling 37:33.03 over 10,000m on home soil last month. It shattered the long-standing European best set by Spain&rsquo;s Francesco Fernandez in 2008.
Before that, Stano clocked a sharp 1:18:28 in March at the Taicang leg of the Race Walking Tour. In December, his 2:24:19 in Ireland for 35km was enough to give him options at September&rsquo;s World Championships in Tokyo.
That said, Christopher Linke won the 20km here in 2017; and was second in 2023 at 35km while setting a German record of 2:24:40 at Dudince in March.
Spain's Miguel Angel Lopez also lines up. The 2015 world champion is now 36, like Linke, but did record a sprightly 2:27:55 on home soil in March.
European champion Perseus Karlstrom is entered, but the two-time winner at 20km for this competition is keeping options open by also entering the 20km.
Ahead of the Swede on race rankings are Dominik Cerny from the Slovak Republic, who set a 2:26:31 PB in Dudince, and Stano&rsquo;s teammates Matteo Giupponi (2:27:18, likewise from Dudince) and Riccardo Orsoni (2:27:20 at the Italian Championships this year).
Italy comes to the fore in the men&rsquo;s 20km too. Francesco Fortunato plans to defend his title, and following the 1:18:49 PB he set in Taicang earlier this year, few would bet against him making it a double.
Depending on where Karlstrom lines up, chances are Andrea Cosi, with a season&rsquo;s best of 1:20:42, will chase the leader to the line.
European silver medallist Paul McGrath is the Spanish team&rsquo;s main hope. He has yet to post a 2025 time, but a 1:17:55 PB to go with an emphatic silver at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships last year suggests either Karlstom or Fortunato &ndash; or both &ndash; face a challenge.
As one can imagine from their numerous mentions, Spain and Italy, who swept all but one of the titles &ndash; individual and team &ndash; at the 2023 races, are set to dominate yet again.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

All roads lead to Podebrady for the European Race Walking Team Championships – a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting – on Sunday (18).

Perez and Stano poised to strike in Podebrady

There was a terrific finish to the women&rsquo;s 20km at the fourth Korzeniowski Warsaw Race Walking Cup &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Sunday (4).
A third 2025 duel between Paula Torres and Kimberly Garcia produced a hat-trick of wins for the Ecuadorean - but this time by just one second.
In fact, the result was in doubt until the last 50 metres when Torres squeezed out all she could to break the tape just ahead of the two-time world champion.
Throughout the race, Garcia kept striving to make the all-important gap, but each time Torres reeled her in.
Even when both shrugged off the challenge from Viviane Lyra with 3km to go, there was never more than a stride between them until the finish recorded by Torres in 1:28:29, with Garcia only a couple of strides behind.
Lyra from Brazil was third in 1:28:54, but for a long time she more than held her own against the other two.
As expected, Garcia, with a blue kinaesthetic strip protecting her right quad and right arm, Torres, Lyra, augmented by Ecuador&rsquo;s Magaly Bonilla, forged an immediate lead, followed a few metres back by double world silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo.
The initial pace was moderate for a quartet with PBs all comfortably under 1:30:00, but by 3km Zdzieblo was already a distant fourth with the rest of the small field fighting for the minor places.
A small increase in tempo was too much for Bonilla, and she got dropped at 5km (22:34). Torres carved the smallest of gaps just past 6km, but the other two quickly closed the gap with all of them detouring past standing puddles left by overnight rain.
A 31:18 clocking at 7km was significantly faster, and this time Lyra and Garcia were the pair forcing the pace. In fact, 9km reached at 40:14, found Torres needing to close a small gap, with Garcia now asking the questions.
It was 44:40 at halfway to underline a race getting serious. Meanwhile, a fading Bonilla provided a welcome target for Zdzieblo at 14km. The Pole passed the Ecuadorean to take fourth albeit more than a minute behind the leading three.
The time at 15km was 1:06:44, which proved too much for Lyra despite having race walked faster than the other two this year. For the first time, the Brazilian looked laboured, while Torres and Garcia upped the gears to the finish.
There was only a second in it at 19km, and it stayed that way over the final scintillating lap with Torres taking victory in 1:28:29 to Garcia&rsquo;s 1:28:30.
In contrast, the men&rsquo;s race was a comfortable stroll for Toshikazu Yamanishi in 1:20:48.
In fact, the result was done and dusted very soon after 5km. At that point, the new world record-holder put the hammer down and all but disappeared into the distance.
Former winner Ciao Bonfim, racing for the fifth time in 2025, gamely gave chase, but the Japanese lead increased from there to the finish &ndash; albeit slowly.
Bonfim recorded 1:21:32, and Yamanishi&rsquo;s teammate Kazuki Takahashi was more than two minutes back in distant third, having covered the rest of the race solo from that 5km split.
A bonus for race organiser and race walking great Robert Korzeniowski was greeting Maher Ben Hlima in fourth place, fresh off a Polish record of 2:27:51 over 35km in Dudince in March.
Bonfim, Japan&rsquo;s Yuta Koga, Takahashi, and Yamanishi had pushed the early pace, and although the pace wasn&rsquo;t blazing fast, Koga was a casualty just after 3km and quickly went backwards.
Just after quarter distance, Yamanishi found half a gear. Takahashi detached almost immediately; Bonfim gave chase and just about held the initial gap to about 15 metres. Meanwhile, the second group had absorbed Koga with fourth place now up for grabs.
But up front, the world record-holder was away and comfortably gone. A glance across as he rounded one of the two 180-degree turns told him all he needed to know as early as 8km. Even so, Bonfim wasn&rsquo;t going down with a fight.
The lead was indeed extending metre by metre but it was still only 11 seconds at 11km. Takahashi was isolated in third 1:04 further back, and Ben Hlima was 1:44 behind towing Germany&rsquo;s Nathaniel Seiler and Harun Bilir (Turkiye). However, the Turk&rsquo;s challenge was brief, which left the Pole and the German a free ride to fourth and fifth places.
The metronomic leader hit his watch at 15km (1:00:22) 21 seconds in front of Bonfim and 1:36 ahead of Takahashi. Behind the three, Ben Hlima was forging a gap over Seiler &ndash; and that final move decided the first five places.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Paula Torres (ECU) 1:28:29 2 Kimberly Garcia (PER) 1:28:30 3 Viviane Lyra (BRA) 1:28:54 4 Katarzyna Zdzieblo (POL) 1:30:33 5 Valeria Ortuno Martinez (MEX) 1:32:34
Men 1 Toshikazu Yamanishi (JPN) 1:20:50 2 Caio Bonfim (BRA) 1:21:34 3 Kazuki Takahashi (JPN) 1:22:55 4 Maher Ben Hlima (POL) 1:23:34 5 Nathaniel Seiler (GER) 1:23:49

There was a terrific finish to the women’s 20km at the fourth Korzeniowski Warsaw Race Walking Cup – a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting – on Sunday (4).

Torres and Yamanishi take top honours in Warsaw

Two head-to-head battles stand out at the fourth Korzeniowski Warsaw Race Walking Cup &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Sunday (4).
Namely, Caio Bonfim versus Toshikazu&nbsp;Yamanishi and the ongoing battle between Kimberly Garcia and Paula Torres.
In the latter&rsquo;s case, it could be a hat-trick for Torres over the Peruvian double 2022 world champion having secured victories at Dudince in March at 35km and Rio Maior earlier this month.&nbsp;
In Dudince, Torres set an Ecuadorian record of 2:44:26, and in Portugal, Torres broke the tape in 1:29:37: 15 seconds ahead of Garcia.
This truly is the 24-year-old&rsquo;s time.
In fact, with Olympic champion Brian Pintado working his way back to fitness following surgery on a troublesome groin, this might be the year a female from the country of four Olympic medals, all race walking, adds another World Championships medal to her country's glittering pile.
Torres, ninth in the Paris Olympics last year, hasn&rsquo;t put a foot wrong in 2025, while Garcia appears to be slowly recovering the shape that made her double world champion three years ago.
Garcia won here in Warsaw in 2023, missed the race last year, but clearly likes a visit to the Polish capital. If nothing else, it offers a chance to get closer to Torres, albeit in a distant kind of way &ndash;&nbsp;if their last two races are anything to go by.
But ready to throw a spanner in those works is Viviane Lyra. The Brazilian, who has a 1:27:13 PB from last year, race walked a notable 1:28:30 to win the South American Championships in Argentina just last week (25).
That is a considerably better mark than Torres&rsquo; PB of 1:28:48 from the Paris Olympics and a 1:22 improvement on Garcia's time from Rio Maior.&nbsp;
A leap to the top of a World Race Walking Tour Gold podium is within reach for the champion steeplechaser turned race walker. The big &lsquo;if&rsquo; is whether Lyra recovers from that 20km win just a week before this race.
Katarzyna Zdzieblo hopes to impress on home soil. The Polish double 2022 world silver medallist was up with the leaders in 2024 for only a short time, but she did offer a glimpse of former glory with third place in Dudince at 35km in March.
Yes, it was a minute behind Garcia finishing second, but better than all other performances since those heady days in Oregon at the World Championships.
The supporting cast of Valeria Ortuno (Mexico) and Ayse Tekdal (Turkey) will augment a field of 17.&nbsp;
The event will be Yamanishi&rsquo;s first race since he broke the 20km world record in February. That magnificent 1:16:10 in Kobe was a fantastic return to form by the bespectacled 29-year-old.&nbsp;
The Japanese athlete was more than a minute ahead of second place, but third on the same day was Bonfim in 1:17:37. That mark was a Brazilian record and in contrast to some who race sparingly, Bonfim has already competed four times at top level in 2025.
His record thus far is two first places, including Rio Maior earlier this month, a third and a sixth &ndash; the latter a super-fast Tour Gold race in Taicang where he stopped the clock at 1:18:20.&nbsp;
Bonfim&rsquo;s Olympic silver from Paris, secured in 1:19:09 when finishing behind Pintado to add to his other major championship medals, suggests Yamanishi needs to be in that same February record-breaking form.
It will need a disqualification, which is unlikely, or an injury for anyone else to break into the top two. But if there is to be a surprise, Kazuki Takahashi is the race walker to spring one.
He was only 13th as his compatriot Yamanishi broke the world record, but a 1:18:23 finish to go with a 2:25:45 35km at Nomi in March is still good enough for fourth in the world rankings at 35km, and 24th at 20km.
Completing a trio of top Japanese athletes planning to show Warsaw what they&rsquo;re about is Yuta Koga. He boasts a 1:17:47 PB from last year, and 1:18:26 from Kobe in February.
Joining them in the men&rsquo;s race are Nathaniel Seiler (Germany) and Isaac Palma (Mexico), and for home fans Maher Ben Hlima, who set a Polish record of 2:27:51 for 35km in Dudince.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

Two head-to-head battles stand out at the fourth Korzeniowski Warsaw Race Walking Cup on Sunday

Bonfim and Yamanishi, Garcia and Torres to clash in Warsaw

Paula Torres and Caio Bonfim reigned supreme at the Grande Premio Internacional de Rio Maior &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Saturday (12).
For the Ecuadorean champion it was a second Tour win inside a month.
Torres added this 20km win to the 35km title she lifted at Dudince, and in doing so beat defending champion Kimberly Garcia - again.
In fact, Peru&rsquo;s two-time world champion Garcia had no answer shortly before 15km when Torres pushed on to make it a happy March-April double.&nbsp;
The women started 12 minutes earlier than the men, and the main six in a modest field wasted no time in chalking up the first 1km lap in a quick 4:23. That six became four just a few hundred metres later to leave Spain&rsquo;s Laura Garcia-Caro, Torres, Garcia and Johana Ordonez from Ecuador on their own.
Garcia pushed on going into the third lap, but she had three early evening shadows just five or so metres back.&nbsp;
The 5km mark was reached in 22:50, and well within the leaders&rsquo; comfort zone. Going into lap seven, a seemingly significant three seconds separated Garcia from Torres and Garcia-Caro.
Ordonez has a PB of 1:29:58 but her best this year is a modest 1:37:52 and it showed as she rapidly fell away.&nbsp;
Approaching nine laps, Torres decided to get after Garcia, and it left Garcia-Caro unable to respond. Torres was working hard, but any gain was marginal at best.
In fact, Garcia already had eyes, albeit shaded by dark glasses, on retaining her title, but Torres calmly worked her way back into contention.
As the chaser crossed the line at 14km, she quickened her step to put fading daylight between her and the Peruvian.
Even then, Garcia wasn&rsquo;t going quietly.
She dug deep to hold the gap to a mere three seconds at 17km. Garcia kept it that way all the way to the final lap when Torres lit the afterburners to add another 15 seconds and breast the tape in 1:29:37 to 1:29:52.&nbsp;
The sky was full of cloud but it was still a warm 21 degrees despite the 5pm staggered start for the men.
Fast start didn&rsquo;t do justice to the race.
Bonfim took off like he had an early dinner date, with the rest already appearing to fight over the leftovers. Italy&rsquo;s Gianluca Picchiottino and Perseus Karlstrom gave chase and notched a first circuit well under four minutes.
At 3km, it was 11:57 - fast, but not that fast for race walkers of this calibre. By 7km, Bonfim underlined his 2025 form to forge a real gap over the chasing pair.
But Karlstom wasn&rsquo;t done yet.
The cap-wearing Swede upped his tempo to catch the Brazilian and walk tandem for the next lap. But Bonfim gave it a second thrust before half way, with Karlstrom walking in his wake for just a few seconds before, again, drawing level.
The clock stopped at 40:02 for halfway, and again, well within the capabilities of men who have dipped under 78 minutes for the whole distance.
By 11km, it was Karlstrom&rsquo;s turn to test the water. He gained five metres, but the see-saw soon tipped the other way.
It was a 60:19 clocking at 15km for both, but that became a nine seconds gap one tour later - and the race was over.
A tiring Karlstrom could offer no response and had no choice but to give way. It allowed Bonfim a relative stroll to the line for a final 1:20:47 to the Swede&rsquo;s 1:21:26.
Behind both, Picchiottino was also feeling the pace. He tired even more so than Karlstrom and got passed in the last two laps by Callum Wilkinson and Joao Vieira, who turned 49 in February.
The Portuguese athlete was eventually outsprinted to the line by the Briton &ndash; a race walker barely a month old even when Vieira was walking 1:20:59 for the distance.&nbsp;
And Viera finished only three minutes outside that in this race, 28 years later.&nbsp;
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

Paula Torres and Caio Bonfim reigned supreme at the Grande Premio Internacional de Rio Maior – a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting – on Saturday

Torres and Bonfim win in Rio Maior

Caio Bonfim and Paula Torres are favourites for the Grande Pr&eacute;mio Internacional de Rio Maior &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Saturday (12), although Kimberly Garcia might have something to say about that.
Garcia, winner of the women&rsquo;s 20km in Rio Maior last year, is hoping to avenge defeat to Torres in Dudince last month.
Olympic champion Brian Pintado was meant to have toed the line in Dudince, but a slight groin strain put paid to that. Now, the Ecuadoran champion is forced to pull out of this one too. Pintado will undergo surgery in Barcelona for a hip problem this week that leaves the men&rsquo;s race open to Bonfim and others.
Perseus Karlstr&ouml;m, and maybe even rising star Misgana Wakuma, will mount determined challenges to the Brazilian. The last was a creditable sixth at the Paris Olympics with 1:19:31 and a national record. Better still, the Ethiopian is just 20.
World silver medallist Karlstrom posted a speedy 1:18:35 at a super-fast World Race Walking Tour Gold race in Taicang at the beginning of March. Before that, 2:27:20 for 35km in January underlined a solid winter&rsquo;s training for the Swedish race walker.
Bonfim placed sixth in that race in Taicang, finishing ahead of Karlstrom, and before that in February, the Olympic silver medallist set a Brazilian record of 1:17:37 in the same Kobe race where Toshikazu Yamanishi broke the world record.
Cesar Rodriguez appears ready to get among these. The Peruvian has a 1:18:23 PB from last year, and a competitive fourth-place finish in the Olympic mixed relay where he partnered Garcia.
The supporting cast of Italy&rsquo;s Gianluca Picchiottino, Ecuador&rsquo;s Jordy Arobbo, Italy&rsquo;s Michele Antonelli and Britain&rsquo;s Callum Wilkinson suggests a healthy throng at the front &ndash; at least in the early stages.
Jo&atilde;o Vieira may not win, but he is almost certain to be the first home-grown athlete across the line &ndash; again. The two-time world medallist from Portugal was 49 in February, but even so posted a healthy 1:25:28 last month on home soil.
He&rsquo;s become the new Jesus Angel Garcia, the Spaniard who kept competing at a high level until he was 51. Supported by wife Vera Santos, who won two World Walking Cup medals, and made two Olympic and six World Championships appearances, Vieira looks more than capable of another two years.
The women&rsquo;s race is set to be an intriguing battle between Garcia and Torres.
If Torres can reproduce the form shown in Dudince just under a month ago in this race, Garcia is in for a rough ride. In the Slovak spa town, Torres set an Ecuadorian 35km record of 2:44:26 and beat the two-time world champion into a very distant second by 83 seconds.
Laura Garcia-Caro is putting a tentative toe back into international athletics. The Spaniard hopes her one moment of world-wide recognition won&rsquo;t be looking over her shoulder aghast at the fast-finishing Lyudmyla Olyanovska five metres from the line at last year&rsquo;s European Championships.
Garcia went viral when celebrating a beat too early and watched open-mouthed as a bronze medal faded to black. Even so, she does have a 1:27:19 PB from last year, and a 2:46:00 35km result from Marin, Spain, in March. It will be safe to assume she will have eyes only for the finish line in Rio Maior.
Vit&oacute;ria Oliveira is the fastest Portuguese entrant, but in 2025 performances is exactly five minutes behind Torres: 1:28:48 to 1:33:48, and even further back on the PBs from Garcia and Garcia-Caro.

Caio Bonfim and Paula Torres are favourites for the Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior

Bonfim and Torres seek more success in Rio Maior

Evan Dunfee broke the world 35km race walk record* at the Dudince 50 &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Saturday (22).
The Canadian's 2:21:40 was seven seconds inside the short-lived 2:21:47 set by Japan&rsquo;s Masatora Kawano last October in Takahata.
Dunfee race walked solo from gun to tape in Dudince, clicking off regular four-minute plus kilometres throughout.
The world and Olympic bronze medallist shattered his previous best at the distance (2:25:02) but, happy as he was with a first world mark, admitted he would have preferred the old major championship distance of 50km.
&ldquo;I was well under pace, but then lost a little time over the last seven kilometres. I (then) got a little stressed out, but it was a dream come true.
&ldquo;I would have liked it to be over 50km, my distance, but this is still very good, and I&rsquo;m so proud to be on that winners plaque here at Dudince.&rdquo;
Asked how he going to celebrate, the 34-year-old said that 2021 Olympic 50km champion Dawid Tomala would be first to benefit.
&ldquo;Dawid did the drinks for me here for me which was really special and I want to repay him. So, this time the drinks are on me.&rdquo;
Dunfee almost had time to get the first round ahead of runner-up Christopher Linke. The German&rsquo;s reward for a steady race was a final time of 2:24:40, itself a 55-second improvement on his previous best.
Jose Doctor from Mexico was a close third, just one second behind, and like the German, another national record. In fact, the top nine after Dunfee set either national records or personal bests.
The start was greeted by a moderate 8 degrees, and late entrant Dunfee wasted no time setting his stall. A first lap of 4:09 left him 10 seconds clear of a group of nine and he added a two-second difference to that as he ramped up the pace.
He reached 3km in 12:15 with Doctor, Matteo Giupponi and Andrea Agrusti, David Hurtado, Linke and others going further away. That lead by the Canadian was 27 seconds a lap later and at 5km (20:18) a full 30 seconds in front.
Dunfee was clearly aiming for laps of about four minutes each, while the chasers were slipping further back. In fact, those chasers had started to fragment at 6km. By 10km, that gap was a chasm.
Dunfee recorded 40:22; next was Giupponi with five on his coattails, all at 41:38. A third group headed by C&eacute;sar Herrera from Colombia was a further 12 seconds back. Dunfee reached 15km in 1:00:26 &ndash; barring a major collapse, it was over and out for top spot.
The chasers, two minutes adrift, were now down to three: Giupponi, Linke, Doctor had nine seconds on Hurtado and Julio Salazar, Mexico.
Dunfee hit 20km in 1:20:28, and well on course for the world record. Behind him, Giupponi got shed from the chasing three a lap later, trailing by seven seconds, soon to get bigger. Dunfee remained on world record schedule at 25km (1:40:36).
The slightest of cracks was beginning to show ever so slightly at 30km (2:00.59). His clocking for the 33rd lap was a slower 4:07; but a 4:06 on the penultimate lap stopped the clock at 2:17:32.
Mouth open and checking his watch, Dunfee squeezed out every last second, but knew his reward was secured over the final 50m and a place in the record books.
Ecuador&rsquo;s Paula Torres took the women&rsquo;s 35km in 2:44:26, a significant improvement on her previous best of 2:51:42 set just last month on home soil.
In contrast to the men&rsquo;s race where Dunfee led throughout, the women&rsquo;s race see-sawed all the way to the last 7km. It was there that Torres made a decisive break to put daylight between herself and a small group of six.
At 30km, just two laps later, she was 49 seconds ahead of second, and going further away. She finished in 2:44:26, 49 seconds ahead of two-time world champion Kimberly Garcia: (2:45:59) and double world champion silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo, third in 2:46:59.
The women started a minute behind the men and were in no hurry to emulate Dunfee. Nine crossed the first kilometre mark in a modest 4:51 but revved it up a notch by the second circuit (9:36).
The pace remained steady through 5km at 23:51, with Viviane Lyra from Brazil, Garcia, Olena Sobchuk, Magaly Bonilla and Johana Ordonez, Goswami Priyanka and Torres still tightly knit.
They increased the tempo a little to reach 10km in 47:31. And two laps later, Garcia, Zdzieblo and Ordonez inched a four-second advantage on the others. Torres quickly joined them, but everyone else appeared to be going backwards by 15km (1:11:06).
Ordonez threw down the gauntlet five minutes later to gain seven seconds on everyone else at 20km (1:34:30). Garcia looked like she was suffering, but she managed to get back in contention.
At the front, it was all change again at 22km with Torres this time attempting a break. She reached 25km in 1:58:05 but still had a three-person shadow a mere six seconds back.
Then truly the gloves came off with large gaps beginning to appear throughout the top seven manifested by Ordonez, Lyra, Bonilla and a hometown success for Hana Burzalova in that order, with the Slovak claiming seventh place.
The women&rsquo;s 20km went down to the last 200 metres before Lyudmila Olyanovska finally broke the stranglehold held by Eleonora Giorgi.
The 35-year-old Italian and 2019 world 50km bronze medallist refused to yield until the final straight when the Ukrainian made a winning sprint for the line, winning in 1:28:28 to Giorgi&rsquo;s 1:28:32. The next three women &ndash; Hanna Shevchuk, Ilse Guerrero and Nicole Colombi &ndash; also finished inside 1:29.
Colombia&rsquo;s Mateo Romero stepped into the limelight to lift the men&rsquo;s 20km title in a PB of 1:20:17.
He made a winning move at 13km and never looked back, eventually winning by 40 seconds ahead of Mazium Demir and Ukraine&rsquo;s Mukola Rushchak.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Evan Dunfee broke the world 35km race walk record at the Dudince 50

Dunfee breaks world 35km race walk record in Dudince

Two Olympic gold medallists go toe to toe in the second World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting of the year on Saturday (22).
Brian Pintado and Massimo Stano face off in the men&rsquo;s 35km at the spa town of Dudince in Slovakia and it is a tasty treat for fans knowing they could end up close to the world record set by Masatora Kawano in October.
The Japanese athlete recorded 2:21:47 in Takahata, but with the Ecuadorian and Italian athletes on the line, it might depend on how much winter training Pintado has under his belt following a prolonged lay-off in the wake of an Olympic gold in Paris at 20km.
However, he did stroll home in 2:31:56 at the Ecuador Championships in February, which was still good enough for 10th on this year&rsquo;s fastest times so far.
Stano, the previous Olympic 20km winner in Sapporo, has likewise shown good form with a 1:18:28 20km in the first Gold race of the World Race Walking Tour at the beginning of March.
That form owes much to training with the new world record-holder, Toshikazu Yamanishi, in Japan at the beginning of the year.
The reported pace of the two while working out drew an intake of breath from those watching.
In fact, Stano himself was on world record pace in Taicang before fading, if that&rsquo;s the right world, to seventh in a super-fast race where 20 got under 1:20:00.
Behind both, expect Italy&rsquo;s Andrea Agrusti, India&rsquo;s Ram Baboo and Germany&rsquo;s Christopher Linke to be with the leaders for the opening salvo.
In the women&rsquo;s 35km, it&rsquo;s a return for Kimberly Garcia to the town where she broke the world record in 2023.
That superlative 2:37:44, a win by more than two minutes from Olympic gold medallist Liu Hong, didn&rsquo;t last long, however.&nbsp;
Spain&rsquo;s Maria Perez, herself a double world champion and Olympic marathon relay gold medallist, hacked off another 39 seconds just a couple of months later.
Now, Garcia is back in Dudince hoping to make the cut for Peru&rsquo;s 35km team in Tokyo and this year&rsquo;s World Championships.
It&rsquo;s fair to say the last 12 months have not been as productive as the two years before that.
Garcia had to settle for 16th in the 20km at the Paris Olympics and a share of fourth in the marathon relay with Cesar Rodriguez, who incidentally won last year&rsquo;s 20km in Dudince in a national record.
Little has been seen of Garcia since, and she faces an intriguing battle with Viviane Lyra and Alegna Gonzalez, dipping her toe into uncharted waters.
This will be a 35km debut for the Mexican who boasts a 20km PB of 1:26:57 from last year and has a collection of fourths and fifths in major championships since 2023.&nbsp;
Lyra knows all about the 35km. The Brazilian was an honourable fourth at World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 and her 2:44:40 PB is under threat.
In the same way Garcia found 2024 a task, Katarzyna Zdzieblo&rsquo;s star has waned since claiming double silver at the World Athletics Championships Oregon 22.
Even so, the Pole with a PB of 2:40:03 from that Oregon race might yet offer Garcia a challenge with both untested so far in 2025.
In contrast to 2024, the 20km races are more muted.
Finland&rsquo;s Veli-Matti Partanen has the best PB in the men&rsquo;s entry of 1:18:22 from Budapest in 2023, closely followed by Ricardo Ortiz of Mexico with 1:18:31 from La Coruna in 2024, but also with a 1:25:00 on home soil just two weeks ago.
Ireland&rsquo;s David Kenny with a PB of 1:19:44 from 2022, but a more recent 1:22:41 from early February in Spain, should keep the first two company.
Time wise in the women&rsquo;s 20km there&rsquo;s nobody close to Italians Nicole Colombi and Eleonora Giorgi.
The latter walked a PB of 2:41:54 for 35km in Turkiye at the end of February, but has chosen the shorter distance here.
It&rsquo;s been nearly 10 years since the 35-year-old walked a national record of 1:26:17, and six since Giorgi was third in the heat-sapping 50km World Championships in Doha.&nbsp;
Colombi&rsquo;s PB is a more modest 1:30:24, but still 40 seconds quicker than Mexico&rsquo;s Karla Serrano &ndash; third ranked in the small field of 12.&nbsp;
This is the second year of a 1km lap in the shape of a fluttering flag with a loop on the end of the &lsquo;staff&rsquo; as opposed to straight up and down circuits favoured by other World Tour races.
Flags will be flying for winners and maybe judges too as they attempt to keep focused on the four major race starts, the first at 8.30am local time (7.30am GMT), and nine races in total.
Once again Dudince provides something for every age group from six years old to 76 and beyond.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

Two Olympic gold medallists go toe to toe in the second World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting of the year on Saturday

Pintado and Stano clash, Garcia returns in Dudince

The overall winner of the 35km at the All-Japan Race Walking Championships - part of the World Athletics Race Walking Tour - in Nomi on Sunday (16) was a big surprise.
At 34, Hayato Katsuki produced the race of his life to win handsomely in 2:24:38, earning a place on Japan&rsquo;s team for the World Championships on home soil in September.
Katsuki struggled at one point on the sodden course where it rained from start to finish, but was left beaming over the last one-kilometre circuit when victory was assured. At 31km, he made a break and never looked back to finish with a massive PB by almost two minutes.
Australia's Olivia Sandery took the women's 35km title in an Oceanian record of 2:42:40, while Yukiko Umeno was the leading Japanese finisher in 2:46:52.
World Championship berths were on offer for Japanese race walkers in the 35km, as well as another chance to qualify at the shorter 20km in a second group of races. Any Japanese race walker wanting a place on the team in the 35km had to finish inside 2:26:00 (men) and 2:45 (women).
Factor in the Asian Championships; the open race, the All Japan Race Walking title, plus additional 10km races, and there was enough silverware on the presentation table to make it groan.
There was also a healthy showing from other countries, particularly Australia, whose athletes were likewise hoping to make an impression on selectors.
The 35km field had the course all to themselves following an 8am start on a grim morning of steady rain and temperatures of 7C.
A group of seven hit the first kilometre in 4:15 including all the main Japanese contenders and Australians Rhydian Cowley and Tim Fraser alongside Mexico&rsquo;s Noel Chama.
They reached 5km in a little over 21 minutes, by which time they were already lapping women who started at the same time.
That group of seven were trailed by another seven just a few metres behind. They quickly closed the gap only to find the original seven plus two forging another small gap.
Andres Nunez from Mexico had joined the throng wearing ear warmers to underline the damp conditions. As quickly as the biggish group came, it went.
Another injection of pace whittled the leaders to six at 10km, including pre-race favourite Satoshi Maruo, Kazuki Takahashi, Katsuki, Tomohiro Noda, Nunez and Cowley in 41:32; the second group had lost 13 seconds.
The same six appeared joined at the hip for the next 5km to make a 15km split of 1:01:58. Any other contender was by now too far back to make a difference.
The next major change came on lap 18 with Katsuki and Cowley forced to give way, but in the case of the Japanese, only for a 1km lap. Katsuki sprinted to join the other four. It was 1:22:11 at 20km, and this time Noda found himself detached.
With 13km to go, Maruo had clearly held off long enough and set off for home. Katsuki was having none of it, and quickly closed the gap with Nunez also giving chase. In fact, it was Takahashi who became the casualty.
Cowley, struggling on his own 25 metres off the back, seemed to find the rain a welcome refreshment as he worked his way back to the front a little after 25km timed at 1:42:32 for the leaders. This time it looked as if the Australian and Katskuki meant business.
There was also daylight between Maruo and Nunez with 2:03:15 for the two in front at 30km with an eight-second gap to third and fourth. However, that effort by Cowley had taken its toll.
Katsuki made yet another attempt to break through, and this time it really was decisive. Cowley slipped back as the leader soared through and on his own for the last 3km while Nunez got a second wind to record 2:25:08, with Maruo, 2:25:19, overtaking a tired Cowley right at the end.
In the women&rsquo;s 35km, Australia's Olivia Sandery underlined her potential with an overall win in 2:42:40.
She set the previous Oceanian record in December with 2:45:31, but in Nomi she decimated it in a strong, steady race with a final burst of 23:04 for the last 5km.
In contrast, Colombia&rsquo;s 2021 Olympic silver medallist Sandra Lorena went for broke at the outset, and paid for it.
Her last two 5km splits (24:05) and (25:38) saw Sandery take advantage. Even so, Lorena's 2:44:17 clocking was still better than her previous 2:46:44 from October.
&nbsp;
Among the Japanese contenders, Hitomi Shimoka made a strong impression early on, but Yukiko Umeno drew level at about 13km and went on to finish third overall in 2:46:53; sadly outside her country&rsquo;s qualification mark. Australia&rsquo;s Alana Pitcher came through strongly to take fourth, also in a PB.
In the men&rsquo;s 20km, Yuta Koga prevailed in a speedy 1:18:48 to go with his 1:18:26 in Kobe in February, and 20-year-old Ning Jinlin from China shattered her PB by close to three minutes with 1:30:03 for the overall win.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

The overall winner of the 35km at the All-Japan Race Walking Championships - part of the World Athletics Race Walking Tour - in Nomi on Sunday (16) was a big surprise

Katsuki claims 35km race walk victory in Nomi

Rising Chinese race walker Wang Zhaozhao and Olympic bronze medallist Jemima Montag of Australia took the 20km titles at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix, the first World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting of 2025, in the Chinese city of Taicang on Saturday (1).
The men&rsquo;s race started at 8:00am and Italy&rsquo;s world and Olympic gold medallist Massimo Stano pulled away immediately after the gun to take a brave sole lead. After completing the first 5km in 19:09 &ndash; close to world record pace &ndash; Stano, last year&rsquo;s runner-up, was already some 30 seconds ahead of the chasing group of more than 10 men that included defending champion Zhang Jun of China and Brazil&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Caio Bonfim.
After another kilometre with a split time of 3:50, Stano, who just celebrated his 33rd birthday on Thursday, started to suffer from his bold early charge. With his pace slowing down to about 3:55 per kilometre, Stano hit 10km in 38:44. The rising temperature had made it more difficult for the Italian, while the chasing pack gradually narrowed the gap.
On the 16th lap, Stano was finally caught and passed by the chasers, now cut to just four athletes &ndash; China&rsquo;s Asian Games silver medallist Wang, Qian Haifeng, Cui Lihong as well as teenager Li Chenjie.
Stano appeared confused at first. After confirming the Chinese quartet were not lapped athletes, he tried to keep up with their pace but faded away soon.
The leading group then got further withered to just Wang and Cui, winner in Taicang in 2021. The duo remained shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the final two kilometres before the 25-year-old Wang gained a narrow lead in the last 100 metres to secure his first win on the tour.
Wang crossed the line in 1:17:30, trimming 18 seconds off his personal best set last March when finishing fourth in Taicang.
The second to fourth finishers all achieved PBs as Cui lagged three seconds behind Wang to take second place. Qian finished third in 1:17:58, and Li improved his PB by more than five minutes to place fourth in 1:18:04. Zhang, Bonfim and Stano finished fifth to seventh.
&ldquo;The competition against Cui in the final two kilometres was so tight. For some moment, I even thought I could not keep my pace any longer,&rdquo; said Wang. &ldquo;But I made it. My speed gave me the edge in the last 100m.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The win really means a lot to me. I clinched my place for the Tokyo World Championships and improved my PB,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I am very happy.&rdquo;
The 20km races in Taicang also served as the first leg of China&rsquo;s qualifiers for the World Championships in September. The best placed Chinese athlete in each event can secure a berth for Tokyo.
During the women&rsquo;s race that started at 9:50am, the temperature rose further to about 25C. Montag seemed to be better prepared for the weather, maintaining her unbeaten run into the 2025 season with a 1:27:20 victory.
The in-form Australian paced a crowded leading group in the opening stages. As the group shrank gradually, Montag stayed in pole position.
Other pre-race favourites like China&rsquo;s defending champion Ma Zhenxia, and Colombia&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Lorena Arena all failed to keep with Montag&rsquo;s pace. Only Ma Li of China managed to stay with Montag until the Australian launched a powerful surge in the final kilometres to pull clear.
&ldquo;The temperate is higher than we expected, but in Australia now it&rsquo;s summer, so maybe we are used to it,&rdquo; said the 27-year-old, who owns the Oceanian record of 1:26:25 set when finishing third at the Paris Olympic Games. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good time (today) and good practice for the World Championships. We know in Tokyo it will be hot weather, so we will practice in the heat in Australia.&rdquo;
The 25-year-old Ma Li hit home eight seconds behind Montag with a PB of 1:27:28. Her compatriot Shi Yuxia also achieved PB with a clocking of 1:27:41 to place third.
Local favourite and Olympic champion Yang Jiayu chose to skip the 20km event and only focus on the marathon race walk mixed relay on Sunday (2), since she has already earned a wild card for the 20km event in Tokyo as the 2024 tour winner.
Vincent Wu for World Athletics

Rising Chinese race walker Wang Zhaozhao and Olympic bronze medallist Jemima Montag of Australia took the 20km titles at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix

Wang and Montag take victory over 20km in Taicang

Brazil&rsquo;s Caio Bonfim and China&rsquo;s Yang Jiayu, overall tour winners of 2024, will lead deep 20km fields at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix, the first World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting of 2025, in the Chinese city of Taicang this weekend.
Both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 20km races will be held on Saturday (1), followed by a marathon race walk mixed relay on Sunday (2).
Bonfim secured podium finishes in each of the five races he competed in on the tour last year, including setting a Brazilian record of 1:17:44 with a third-place finish in Taicang and taking the 20km silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1:19:09.
The consistent 33-year-old further bettered the national record to 1:17:37 in Kobe, Japan, two weeks ago and is ready to repeat his winning feat in Taicang in 2017.
World and Olympic gold medallist Massimo Stano will also return to Taicang where he achieved a career best of 1:17:26 last March, which also stands as the Italian record. He went on to finish fourth with a 1:19:12 clocking in Paris and his last outing was a 2:24:19 victory over 35km in Dublin last December.
Perseus Karlstrom is another serious contender in the men&rsquo;s race. The 34-year-old European champion owns a fast personal best of 1:17:39 set two years ago in Budapest when he took a silver medal at the World Championships. The vastly experienced Swedish athlete also notched a 1:18:49 victory at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya last April and has three World Championships bronze medals to his name, grabbed in both 20km and 35km events.&nbsp;
The field also includes Italy&rsquo;s Francesco Fortunato, who recently renewed the long-standing world indoor 5000m race walk record at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona with a clocking of 17:55.65 last Saturday. They will be joined by African champion Misgana Wakuma of Ethiopia, whose PB of 1:19:31 was set when finishing sixth at the Paris Olympic Games, as well as Australia&rsquo;s Rhydian Cowley, a 1:18:33 performer who finished fifth in Taicang last year.
The Chinese entries will be led by defending champion Zhang Jun, who edged Stano in front of the finish line to claim the title last year. The winning mark of 1:17:26 also stands as his career best and the Chinese champion will be keen to prove his worth following a lacklustre journey to Paris last August when he clocked 1:19:56 to settle for 10th place.
Other Chinese men to watch include Li Yandong (1:17:47), Wang Zhaozhao (1:17:48), Qian Haifeng (1:18:51) and Wang Kaihua, who set the Chinese record of 1:16:54 in 2021, but has failed to dip under 1:20 ever since.
World record-holder and Olympic champion Yang has placed second in Taicang over 20km a total of four times but has not yet managed to step on top of the podium. Last year she had to settle for second place after a photo finish separated her and her compatriot Ma Zhenxia, as they both clocked 1:26:07.&nbsp;
Five months later, 2017 world champion Yang produced a convincing victory to claim the Olympic gold medal in Paris in 1:25:54, which was her quickest time since registering the world record of 1:23:49 in 2021.
The 26-year-old Ma, world U20 champion in 2016, will also toe the line on Saturday. She trimmed 36 seconds off her PB to take the win last year and went on to finish second at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in 1:27:55. But she failed to compete to her best level in her Olympic debut, placing 11th in Paris in 1:29:15.
Unlike Yang, who has already earned a wild card for the World Championships in Tokyo as a 2024 tour winner, Ma will be more motivated to vie for the victory, since the race will also serve as the first leg of the country&rsquo;s qualifying event and only the best placed Chinese athlete can secure a berth for Tokyo.
Australia&rsquo;s Jemima Montag is another leading contender for the title, alongside the Chinese duo. The 27-year-old set an Oceanian record of 1:26:25 to finish third at the Paris Games and grabbed a second Olympic bronze medal in the mixed relay event together with Rhydian Cowley.
The in-form Montag has remained unbeaten in 2025, winning the Australian 20km Race Walking Championships in 1:27:47 two weeks ago and also scoring victories over the 5000m and 10,000m race walk in Melbourne and Canberra, respectively.
The women&rsquo;s field also includes Colombia&rsquo;s Lorena Arenas, the Tokyo Olympics runner-up who achieved a national record of 1:27:03 to finish fourth in Paris, plus two-time European champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti of Greece (1:28:12 PB), and Clemence Beretta, who set a French record of 1:28:44 en route to placing fifth in Taicang last year.
Vincent Wu for World Athletics

Brazil’s Caio Bonfim and China’s Yang Jiayu, overall tour winners of 2024, will lead deep 20km fields at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix

Tour winners Bonfim and Yang lead quality fields in Taicang

Japan&rsquo;s Toshikazu Yamanishi clocked a superb 1:16:10* to smash the men&rsquo;s world 20km race walk record at the Japanese 20km Race Walking Championships, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Bronze event, in Kobe on Sunday (16).
With that performance the two-time world champion improved the previous world record of 1:16:36 set by his compatriot Yusuke Suzuki in Nomi in 2015 by 26 seconds - and the winner never looked the slightest bit bothered by his effort.
In fact, Yamanishi was sharing a joke with lapped athletes over the final kilometre to come home in style.
As befits tradition, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist &ndash; who had a previous PB of 1:17:15 set in 2019 &ndash; stopped immediately after crossing the line to bow to all four points of the compass. The world is his own for the time being, and his renaissance is complete.
A poor, by his standards, 2023 was rekindled too late for him to make the Japanese Olympic team for Paris, but his World Race Walking Tour win in La Coruna last May was just the uplift the 29-year-old needed.
There he clocked 1:17:47 against a world-class field, most of whom went on to compete in Paris. But nothing suggested the bespectacled race walker would produce this.
It had been raining in Kobe but was a fresh 7 degrees at the gun with the sun gamely trying to peep through the clouds. Several athletes wore arm warmers as they raced among the leading throng of 20 who were clear after the first 500m.&nbsp;
Even the first 1km lap was a nifty 3:48.
The main contenders were immediately to the front, with Yamanishi, Hiroto Jusho, Satoshi Maruo, Keisuke Hara and Ryo Hamanshi among those with their noses out front by the end of a second kilometre in 7:48. Maruo and Yamanishi were spearheading the charge, but as they clocked 11:30 for 3km they still had plenty of company.
Eight became four by 5km (19:09). Yamanishi, Hamanishi, Yuta Koga and Maruo were together, with Kento Yoshikara (PB 1:19:12) straining to rejoin the leaders. By 8km, Koga &ndash; eighth at the Olympics last year &ndash; had become uncoupled, which was no big surprise considering halfway was an eye-watering 38:21.
Hamanishi was next to suffer as his shoulders tightened with just slightest of gaps forged as they passed 12km.
One lap later and Yamanishi put the hammer down. He sliced open a gap of 12 seconds in just half a lap. By 15km that gap had become a chasm.&nbsp;
Yamanishi clocked 57:24 at 15km with the struggling Maruo and Hamanishi 24 seconds behind. Over the next couple of laps, Yamanishi was forced to go wide around the turns at either end of the 1km loop to pass not only lapped men but several women.
It phased him not one bit.
Out on his own, the leader was clearly on course for the world record as he reached 18km. Behind him, the gap between second and third was closing slightly, but Maruo still held a telling 13-second advantage over Hamanishi.
There was no doubt about the winner, who was congratulated by Italy's Tokyo Olympic champion Massimo Stano at the finish, and Maruo also cleaved himself a massive PB as he came home in 1:17:24. Behind them was a rejuvenated Yoshikawa, who clocked 1:17:38, and then Hamanishi, in 1:17:53.
In the open race, Brazil's Olympic silver medallist Caio Bonfim crossed the line in 1:17:37 to improve his own national record.
To underscore Japan's strength in depth, 11 athletes went under 1:20:00 and a massive 47 broke the 1:30:00 mark.&nbsp;
Yamanishi&rsquo;s bonus was the outright prize of a place in Japan&rsquo;s team for the home World Championships, while Maruo&rsquo;s terrific effort should also see him make the relatively short 230-mile journey from Kobe to Tokyo in September.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67b1b763de1359ee6a68334c.jpeg" alt="Toshikazu Yamanishi celebrates his world 20km race walk record with Massimo Stano" />
Toshikazu Yamanishi celebrates his world 20km race walk record with Massimo Stano (&copy; JAAF / Ikumi Kodama)
</div>
"I&rsquo;m glad 'time' came along with my efforts today," said&nbsp;Yamanishi. "The guys made a good rhythm in the first half of the race and I figured I&rsquo;d make a move in the latter part of the race. My movement didn&rsquo;t really feel right in the beginning, it wasn&rsquo;t easy, but I was able to make the adjustments to find the right rhythm. When I was planning my race, whatever happened in the race I was aiming for the world record.&nbsp;
"With my performance today, I was able to express my appreciation towards my supporters who stuck along even during the last season when I was struggling."
<h2>Fujii sets national record</h2>
On a morning of landmarks, the women&rsquo;s 20km race walk also produced a Japanese record for Nanako Fujii.
The race was even more processional than the men&rsquo;s, with the record Fuji eclipsed having been set by the athlete finishing second in Kobe.
The winner&rsquo;s 1:26:33 heft a big chunk from the 1:27:41 recorded by Kumiko Okada in 2019.
Okada this time came home in 1:28:17: her best since she set that national mark in La Coruna, but an agonising 17 seconds outside her own federation&rsquo;s requirements for the World Championships team in Tokyo. However, this heartening performance still leaves the 33-year-old time to qualify.
To underline gaps throughout the field, third was the fast-finishing Yukiko Umeno in 1:31:02, nonetheless a PB by 1:19.
Fuji, Okada and five others were away and gone from the start. A time of 4:22 at the first check was their reward and they were well within the qualifying time for the World Championships.
Barely visible among the men, Okada and Fuji were cutting the rest adrift from lap two.
By 5km, Fuji had shot away on her own to record 21:43, with Okada five seconds back and Ayane Yanai three seconds behind her. They were the only three to dip under 22 minutes.
At halfway, and riding the coattails of lapped men, Fuji had clocked an impressive 43:25 to remain ahead of Okada who passed that point in 43:55. Yanai, though something of a rising star, was nearly a minute behind at that stage.
The gaps from first to fourth place at 15km were around a minute each. But a race that started 20 minutes after the men&rsquo;s may have helped finishing times as the faster women clearly benefitted from passing the struggling men.
Even the winner felt the demand of the last two laps.
Fuji&rsquo;s style became strained for the first time; her face etched with the effort as she glanced at her watch anxiously.
But there was never any doubt she was the second race walker of the day to carve her own piece of history.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/calendar-results/7216875/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Toshikazu Yamanishi clocked 1:16:10* to break the men’s world 20km race walk record at the Japanese 20km Race Walking Championships in Kobe

Yamanishi breaks world 20km race walk record in Kobe

China&rsquo;s Yang Jiayu and Brazil&rsquo;s Caio Bonfim have been confirmed as the overall winners in the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Tour.
The scoring system combines each athlete&rsquo;s three best world ranking performances from the series. The man and woman with the highest score each win US$25,000.
Yang, the world record-holder over 20km, started her season with a runner-up finish in Taicang in March, narrowly beaten by compatriot Ma Zhenxia, both women clocking 1:26:07. Two months later, Yang placed sixth in a high-quality race in La Coruna in 1:27:27.
But Yang was unbeatable on the sport&rsquo;s biggest stage, taking the Olympic title in Paris in 1:25:54 &ndash; the third-fastest clocking of her career and her quickest time since setting the world record of 1:23:49 in 2021.
Her performance score of 1490 elevated her to the top of the Race Walking Tour standings, ahead of Australia&rsquo;s Jemima Montag (3938) and Peru&rsquo;s Kimberly Garcia (3901).
Bonfim, winner of last season&rsquo;s tour, competed in five races on this year&rsquo;s tour. Although he didn&rsquo;t achieve any individual victories this season, his year-long consistency led to podium finishes in all five races and the overall lead in the Race Walking Tour.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67617389a43af2d33308076c.jpg" alt="Brazil's Caio Bonfim celebrates his Olympic silver medal win in Paris" />
Brazil's Caio Bonfim celebrates his Olympic silver medal win in Paris (&copy; Dan Vernon)
</div>
Like Yang, he kicked off his season with a strong showing in Taicang, clocking a Brazilian record of 1:17:44 to finish third. He achieved another third-place finish a month later in Podebrady, clocking 1:18:50.
After a runner-up finish in Warsaw (1:19:17) and a third-place finish in La Coruna (1:17:52), Bonfim went on to take the 20km silver medal in Paris in 1:19:09.
He ended the series with a score of 4072, putting him just four points ahead of Olympic champion Brian Daniel Pintado. Olympic bronze medallist Alvaro Martin was third in the standings with 4035.
The 2025 World Race Walking Tour &ndash; which has events in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania &ndash; kicks off on 12 January with the USA 35km Race Walking Championships. The first Gold level meeting of the season will be held on 1-2 March in Taicang.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/calendar-results?season=2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/calendar-results?season=2025">2025 World Race Walking Tour calendar</a>
<h3>2024 World Race Walking Tour final standings</h3>
Women 1 Yang Jiayu (CHN) 3998 2 Jemima Montag (AUS) 3938 3 Kimberly Garcia (PER) 3901 4 Alegna Gonzalez (MEX) 3873 5 Lorena Arenas (COL) 3836 6&nbsp;Ma Zhenxia (CHN) 3788 7 Liu Hong (CHN) 3776 8 Laura Garcia-Caro (ESP) 3773
Men 1 Caio Bonfim (BRA) 4072 2 Brian Pintado (ECU) 4068 3 Alvaro Martin (ESP) 4035 4 Massimo Stano (ITA) 3987 5 Evan Dunfee (CAN) 3946 6&nbsp;Toshikazu Yamanishi (JPN) 3889 7 Zhang Jun (CHN) 3889 8 Diego Garcia Carrera (ESP) 3817
World Athletics

China’s Yang Jiayu and Brazil’s Caio Bonfim have been confirmed as the overall winners in the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Tour

Yamanishi and Perez convincing victors in La Coruña

World race walking elite gather in La Coruna

Yamanishi and Gonzalez take the spoils in Madrid

Mouth-watering line-ups assembled in Madrid

Stano smashes world 35km race walk record in Podebrady

More News