Maria Perez in La Coruna (© Nicola Maggio)
A vast array of talent will descend on La Coruña for the Gran Premio Cantones de Marcha – the first Spain-based Gold meeting on this year’s World Athletics Race Walking Tour – on Saturday (23).
The competition, held annually since 1987, again offers a star-studded field and includes all of the 20km podium finishers, men and women, from the 2025 World Championships.
Due to an urban development project in the area of the usual circuit, this year’s edition will take place over a new one-kilometre circuit.
The women’s race, which closes the competition programme, is worthy of a major championships and is led by Maria Pérez. The 30-year-old Spaniard hasn’t competed since her superb performance at the 2025 World Championships, where she retained her 20km and 35km titles.
Pérez, who also won Olympic gold in the mixed marathon relay in 2024, triumphed over 20km in La Coruña last year. This time she will make her competitive debut over the half marathon distance in what will be her first race in eight months. World bronze medallist Nanako Fujii of Japan will also be contesting that distance for the first time.
Mexico’s Alegna González, who finished in between Pérez and Fujii at last year’s World Championships, is fresh from a solid 1:32:15 victory in Rio Maior last Saturday.
While Pérez’s competitive shape is untested so far this year, the Peruvian duo of Kimberly García and Evelyn Inga have displayed great form. García, the double world champion in 2022, will be contesting her fourth half marathon of the year, having won at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia last month and more recently in Podebrady, where she clocked 1:31:44.
García’s one loss so far this year came in Dudince, where Inga took the spoils by a 28-second margin.
The strong Chinese contingent in La Coruña is led by 23-year-old Jiang Yunyan, who owns the fastest half marathon race walk performance on record so far with her 1:31:39 victory in Taicang earlier this year.
She will be joined by compatriots Yang Liujing, Ji Haiying and Guo Na – all of whom finished inside 1:33 in Taicang – plus Wu Quanming, who was runner-up in La Coruña in 2023 with a 20km PB of 1:26:48.
Watch out too for Italy’s 2021 Olympic 20km champion Antonella Palmisano. The world 35km silver medallist made a promising half marathon debut in Podebrady earlier this month, finishing 37 seconds behind García.
World 35km bronze medallist Paula Milena Torres also cannot be discounted. The Ecuadorian triumphed over the full marathon distance at the World Race Walking Team Championships, finishing more than a minute ahead of her rivals.
Rising Italian Sofia Fiorini, who finished second to Torres in Brasilia, will also be in contention on Saturday. Spain’s Antía Chamosa, who finished seventh at the 2021 Olympics, is another contender.
Bonfim takes on strong Japanese challenge
World 20km champion Caio Bonfim leads a mouth-watering line-up in the men’s half marathon.
The 35-year-old Brazilian, who earned Olympic bronze in 2024, will be contesting the sixth half marathon of the year so far. He 2026 campaign has so far included a fifth-place finish at the Japanese Championships in Kobe in 1:21:44, a runner-up finish in Taicang, and a third-place finish at the World Race Walking Team Championships on home soil.
Bonfirm, who also earned 35km silver at the 2025 World Championships, will be chasing his fourth podium finish in La Coruña following his victory in 2023 and third spots in 2022 and 2024. He will face stiff opposition from two of the Japanese race walkers who beat him in Kobe: Kento Yoshikawa and Tomohiro Noda, both of whom finished inside 1:21.
The strong Japanese squad also includes world 35km bronze medallist Hayato Katsuki, who won the marathon at the World Race Walking Team Championships. The 35-year-old will be eager to bounce back from his performance last weekend in Rio Maior where he was disqualified in the closing stages when he was in contention for victory.
He’ll be joined on the start line by the three men who followed him across the line in Brasilia: Ecuador’s David Hurtado, Japan’s Kazuya Iwai and Mexico’s Cesar Herrera, the latter competing alongside his compatriots Ricardo Ortiz, Noel Chama and José Luis Doctor.
World 20km silver medallist Wang Zhaozhao leads a strong Chinese contingent. The 26-year-old has not yet raced over the half marathon, but has a 1:17:30 PB for 20km. He will be joined by Qian Haifeng, the sixth-place finisher over 20km at the 2025 World Championships. Holder of a 1:17:58 PB for 20km, he will also making his half marathon debut on Saturday.
Shi Shengji, who beat Bonfim in Taicang with 1:22:33, the fastest half marathon time recorded so far by an U20 athlete, should also be a factor.
Olympic champion Brian Pintado is also due to compete on Saturday. The Ecuadorian is working his way back to top form, following hip surgery in April last year.
Home hopes will be carried by Spain’s Diego García, Paul McGrath, Álvaro López and 2015 world 20km champion Miguel Angel López.
García is an accomplished performer in La Coruña, having finished first in 2021, second in 2022 and third in 2023. The 30-year-old placed eighth at the World Championships last year, clocking 1:18:19, and earlier this year he won the Spanish half marathon title in 1:26:07 ahead of Alvaro López (1:26:21). The duo, who train together in Madrid, both finished in the top 10 at the recent World Race Walking Team Championships.
McGrath, the world 20km bronze medallist, was fourth at the Spanish Championships and 20th in Brasilia.
Weather forecasters predict a pleasant windless afternoon with temperatures in the 21-23C range by the time of the competition.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
