Yang and Bonfim confirmed winners of World Athletics Race Walking Tour

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

The scoring system combines each athlete’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’s biggest stage, taking the Olympic title in Paris in 1:25:54 – 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’s Jemima Montag (3938) and Peru’s Kimberly Garcia (3901).

Bonfim, winner of last season’s tour, competed in five races on this year’s tour. Although he didn’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.

Brazil's Caio Bonfim celebrates his Olympic silver medal win in Paris (© Dan Vernon)

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 – which has events in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania – 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.

2025 World Race Walking Tour calendar

2024 World Race Walking Tour final standings

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 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 Toshikazu Yamanishi (JPN) 3889
7 Zhang Jun (CHN) 3889
8 Diego Garcia Carrera (ESP) 3817

World Athletics