The sun shone for Toshikazu Yamanishi at the 104th Japanese Championships in Kobe.

When he’s got a spare minute, Toshikazu Yamanishi likes to read Agatha Christie novels. There will be no mystery if the bespectacled world champion adds Olympic gold to his Doha triumph.

Kenya’s world 5000m finalist Nicolas Kimeli won the men’s 10,000m at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, clocking a world-leading PB of 26:58.97.

It was an island of dreams for Toshikazu Yamanishi at the 103rd Japanese National 20km Championships as he roared home to gold and a place in the Japanese Olympic team.

Japan completed a glorious men’s race walking double at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 courtesy of a commanding performance by world leader Toshikazu Yamanishi.

It was cold, it rained, and the winner at the 20km Asian Race Walking Championships wore arm gloves to ward off the elements - but Toshikazu Yamanishi (20km race walk world ranking: 3) lived up to star billing when he fired off the fastest time in the year at this, the third leg of the 2019 IAAF Race Walking Challenge.

Toshikazu Yamanishi claimed Japan’s first 10,000m Race Walk victory in the 14-year history of the IAAF World Youth Championships in a dramatic last lap, which saw Guatemala’s Jose Alejandro Barrondo, cousin of London 2012 Olympic Games 20km Walk silver medallist Erick Barrondo, disqualified with only 60 metres from the line whilst in the silver medal position.