WCH Budapest 23 preview: race walks

Men's 20km race walk

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In a race with so many contenders, it’s difficult to know where to start when weighing up the potential medallists in Budapest. But the man who has won the past two world 20km race walk titles is as good a starting point as any.

Toshikazu Yamanishi led a Japanese 1-2 from Koki Ikeda at the World Championships in Oregon last year and at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat a few months prior. The Japanese duo are formidable competitors, but both have had relatively low-key seasons so far, making their current form difficult to assess.

Yamanashi’s sole competitive outing in 2023 was a third-place finish in Rio Maior in 1:20:58. Ikeda, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since winning the Japanese title in February in 1:18:36. Despite their quiet seasons – which isn’t unusual for them – it’s safe to assume that when they step on the start line for a major championships, they will be ready to compete for medals.

The same applies to Massimo Stano, who beat Ikeda and Yamanashi to the Olympic title in Tokyo. The Italian triumphed over 20km in the Japanese capital in 2021, then won the 35km gold in Oregon last year.

Having won global titles at both distances, he now fancies his chances at doubling up and is entered for both events in Budapest. The 31-year-old has competed just twice this year, clocking a 10km PB of 39:06 and then finishing third over 20km at the European Team Championships in Podebrady. Both performances are superior to the pre-championships form he displayed in 2021 and 2022, so Stano is certainly one to keep an eye on.

He is one of several men who’ll be doubling up in Budapest, with the schedule offering a five-day rest period between the disciplines. The 20km will be up first, though – and, in fact, will be the first title on offer in Budapest – so all athletes will take to the start line with fresh legs.

Perseus Karlstrom, currently world ranked No.1 at 20km, contested both distances in Oregon and earned bronze medals in both. One of the more prolific racers on the circuit, the 33-year-old from Sweden has finished first or second in all four of his 20km races this year, and has broken 1:20 on three occasions.

Spain’s Alvaro Martin and Diego Garcia Carerra are also entered for both distances. Martin has won the last two European titles at 20km, while Garcia earned silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022. Martin has had the more impressive 2023 campaign to date, winning seven of his nine races across four different distances, and holding a season’s best of 1:18:49. They finished just shy of the podium in Tokyo in 2021, placing fourth and sixth respectively, so are still chasing their first senior global medals.

Other men who’ll be doubling in Budapest include Brazil’s Caio Bonfim, Germany’s Christopher Linke, Ecuador’s Brian Pintado, Colombia’s 2017 world champion Eider Arevalo and Canada’s world and Olympic medallist Evan Dunfee.

Bonfim, the 2017 world bronze medallist, won in La Coruna in what was the most competitive 20km outside of the World Championships, clocking a national record of 1:18:29. Linke, the European 35km silver medallist, has placed in the top five at the past two Olympic Games and at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.

Pintado doubled up in Oregon, placing fifth in the 20km and fourth in the 35km, so it would only require a small improvement on that for the 28-year-old to reach the podium. Arevalo, meanwhile, hasn’t finished in the top 10 over 20km at a global championships since winning the 2017 world title, but a 1:19:23 victory in Dudince bodes well for the Colombian.

Dunfee, who usually performs better at longer distances, showed great speed when winning the 10,000m at last year’s Commonwealth Games. He has clocked 1:20:52 for 20km this year, just 39 seconds shy of his PB.

There will also be many athletes entered for just the 20km, including China’s Zhang Jun. He heads to Budapest as the world leader over 20km, having won in Taicang in April in 1:17:38. But following that, he placed 12th in Rio Maior and fifth in La Coruna.

Zhang was a precocious teen, earning 2015 world U18 silver and winning the U20 race at the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships. His best performance as a senior at a global championships remains his eighth-place finish at the Olympic Games.

Other contenders include Kenya’s Samuel Gathimba, who was fourth in Oregon, Australia’s much-improved Declan Tingay, Italy’s European Team Championships winner Francesco Fortunato, and Ecuador’s David Hurtado.

 

Women's 20km race walk

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Last year’s World Championships in Oregon marked the beginning of Kimberly Garcia’s reign as the queen of race walking.

The 29-year-old from Peru made history by winning gold medals at both distances, then continued that momentum into 2023 by setting a world record over 35km in her first race of the year.

But in recent months, Spain’s Maria Perez has made it known that Garcia may not have it all her own way in Budapest.

Perez, the 2018 European 20km champion, clocked a world-leading Spanish record of 1:25:30 over 20km in March and then broke Garcia’s world 35km record two months later.

Perez has won eight of her nine races this year; her only loss came in La Coruna where she finished fifth in a high-quality race won by Garcia, though it was just less than two weeks after her record-breaking performance over 35km.

Garcia also suffered a rare defeat this year, placing fourth in Rio Maior, but she rebounded with her victory in La Coruna, where she set a national record of 1:26:40 – a welcome confidence boost in her final race before heading to Budapest.

China’s 2017 world champion Yang Jiayu won in Rio Maior, leading a Chinese 1-2-3 with Garcia finishing 21 seconds behind the winner. Yang, the world record-holder over 20km, has enjoyed a strong season so far, clocking a season’s best of 1:26:41 and winning over 10km in Madrid.

Yang forms part of a formidable Chinese trio in this event; four-time world champion Liu Hong will be making her eighth World Championships appearance, while Ma Xhenxia will be looking to improve upon her 10th-place finish from 2022.

Despite setting a Chinese record over 35km this year, and being the world record-holder at 50km, Liu will contest just the shorter discipline in Budapest. But her presence means that three current world record-holders – Yang (20km) and Perez (35km) being the others – will clash over 20km in Budapest.

Ma, winner of four major age-group titles in her teens, won the 20km at last year’s World Race Walking Team Championships, and earlier this year she improved her PB to 1:26:43.

Since winning the Olympic title in Tokyo, Antonella Palmisano has spent most of her time rehabbing her way back from injury. But the Italian returned to form with a runner-up finish at the European Team Championships this year and will be aiming to make it back on to the podium in Budapest.

Other strong contenders from Europe include Greece’s double continental champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti and Poland’s double world silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo.

The Latin American challenge will also be fierce. Mexico’s Alegna Gonzalez won in Dudince and set a PB of 1:26:59 in La Coruna. Colombia’s Sandra Lorena Arenas improved her own national record to 1:28:02 in Nomi, while Peru’s Evelin Inga, Brazil’s Erica Sena and Ecuador’s Glenda Morejon have all been in good form.

Australia’s two-time Commonwealth champion Jemima Montag is undefeated this year. She placed sixth at the Olympic Games and fourth at last year’s World Championships, so if that improvement trend continues, she could well end up on the podium in Budapest.

 

Men's 35km race walk

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The three medallists from Oregon will clash with two of the fastest men in history in what looks set to be an enthralling men’s 35km in Budapest.

Massimo Stano won the world title in 2022, adding another gold medal to his tally following his Olympic 20km triumph in 2021. Japan’s Masatora Kawano finished just one second behind to take silver, while Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom earned his second bronze medal of the championships, following his third-place finish over 20km.

All three men will be in action in Budapest; in fact, the top 16 finishers from Oregon will all toe the line at 35km in the Hungarian capital, many of whom would have contested the 20km just five days prior.

China’s He Xianghong, however, is concentrating solely on the longer distance. He finished fifth in Oregon last year in a national record of 2:24:45, then earlier this year he set an Asian record of 2:22:55, the second-fastest time in history for the relatively new discipline.

Japan’s Tomohiro Noda is another who has improved since Oregon. He placed ninth there, but earlier this year he broke Kawano’s national record at the Japanese Championships with 2:23:13, making him the third-fastest man in history.

Ecuador’s Brian Pintado – who, like Stano and Karlstrom, will be doubling up in Budapest – finished one place shy of the medals in Oregon. He comfortably won the national 35km title earlier this year, then went on to set a 20km PB of 1:19:05 to win in Rio Maior, so he’ll be heading to Budapest in good form.

Canada’s Evan Dunfee, sixth in Oregon last year, is another athlete entered for both distances. As a world and Olympic medallist over 50km, he’ll prefer his chances over the longer distance in Budapest.

Spain will have more than one medal contender in this race. Alvaro Martin, the European champion over 20km, won the 35km at this year’s European Team Championships in a national record of 2:25:35.

Miguel Angel Lopez, the 2015 world 20km champion, won the European title over the longer distance last year. European 20km bronze medallist Diego Garcia Carerra, meanwhile, will be doubling up in Budapest. Such is Spain’s strength, Olympic 50km fourth-place finisher Marc Tur is their reserve.

Portugal's Joao Vieira, entered for both the 20km and 35km, will make history in Budapest. The 2019 world silver medallist at 50km, now aged 47, will be contesting his 13th World Championships, equalling the record set by Spanish race walker Jesus Angel Garcia.

Brazil’s Caio Bonfim, Germany’s Christopher Linke and Colombia’s 2017 world 20km champion Eider Arevalo will all be contesting the 35km in Budapest five days after racing over 20km.

Other contenders include Japan’s Satoshi Maruo, Poland’s surprise Olympic 50km race walk champion Dawid Tomala, China’s Wang Qin and Australia’s Rhydian Cowley.

 

Women's 35km race walk

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Like with the 20km, the women’s 35km race walk in Budapest looks set to be another showdown between defending champion Kimberly Garcia and world record-holder Maria Perez.

Last year in Oregon, Garcia struck gold with a South American record of 2:39:16. She improved on that with a world record of 2:37:44 in March this year, but just two months later, Perez chopped another 29 seconds off the record with her 2:37:15 victory in Podebrady.

In the only clash between the pair this year, Garcia came out on top (albeit over 20km). Perez, meanwhile, is undefeated at 35km in all four of her career races at that distance.

But this will be much more than just a two-woman race; eight of top nine finishers from last year’s World Championships will be in Budapest.

That includes Qieyang Shijie, the double bronze medallist in Oregon, who leads a strong Chinese trio. She’s joined on the team by Li Maocuo, runner-up over 50km at the 2019 World Championships and over 35km at the 2022 World Race Walking Team Championships, and Bai Xueying, the fastest of the Chinese entrants.

Antigoni Ntrismpioti finished fourth over 35km in Oregon but then went on to win both race walking disciplines at the European Championships one month later. She hasn’t raced over 35km so far this year, but has shown good form at 20km, setting a national record of 1:28:12 and winning in Podebrady.

Katarzyna Zdzieblo was a surprise double silver medallist in Oregon behind Garcia, but the Pole has struggled for form this season.

Kumiko Okada, who finished sixth over 20km at the 2019 World Championships, made a promising 35km debut earlier this year, setting a Japanese record of 2:44:11 in the process. Serena Sonoda, who was ninth in Oregon, will join Okada on the Japanese team.

Spain’s Raquel Gonzalez, Brazil’s Erica Sena and Portugal’s 2017 world 50km champion Ines Henriques are all worth keeping an eye on too. Henriques will equal the women's record for World Championships participation as the 43-year-old will be competing at her 11th edition.

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics