After a series of near misses, Canadian athlete storms to 35km race walk victory in the first final of the 2025 World Champs in Tokyo.

Evan Dunfee has finished in the top six in major championship race walking finals on seven separate occasions. But in Tokyo on Saturday (Sept 13) he struck gold at last as he clocked 2:28:22 to beat Caio Bonfim of Brazil as host nation hope Hayato Katsuki of Japan was third.

With 2022 world champion Massimo Stano of Italy out of the championships with a hamstring injury, plus reigning world champion Alvaro Martin of Spain being now retired, it helped Dunfee's cause.

But he still had to overcome a good field, including a number of Japanese contenders, in warm and muggy conditions in the early hours of the morning.

Masatora Kawano was a big Japanese hope as he'd won minor medals at the last two world championships but here he finished 18th. Kawano and Katsuki had started strongly but faded in the latter stages as Dunfee came through stronger than anyone.

Dunfee, who won Olympic 50km race walk bronze in Tokyo four years ago, said: "It is a dream come true. My coach and I have been together since I was 10 years old and then we set down and set goals to become world champions and to set the world record. We managed to do both this year and it really is a dream come true.

"I am turning 35 this year but I just feel like I am getting better and better. I was just patient today. That is part of my game and everyone who knows me knows that I can become better in the second half of the race. At first I was a bit concerned, I was really struggling and I was thinking that maybe the gold was not going to happen today.

"In the second half of the race, I found myself in the lead, but still, the last two kilometres felt like the hardest ones I have ever done. I had to channel all my strength for all the people back home, the ones who supported me. My family who are here, my fiancee back home who just watched the race, I was just channeling all my strength for them.

"The race walk is always exciting. I don''t know why people cut it off. We always make a show. When I was struggling today, I was just thinking, ''One more step, one more step''. And it all paid off."

Britain's sole competitor, Cameron Corbishley, finished 34th in 2:52:15 and said: “That was the hardest race I have ever done; it was tough from the beginning. The conditions, the heat and humidity, made it so hard. I struggled from the start, so I had to battle the whole way round and take each lap as it came, ticking it off one by one and trying to get through it to the finish.

“Something I can be proud of, not everyone finished today, so at least I managed to complete the race and get through technically as well. I had two cards relatively early on in the race so again had to stay disciplined despite the struggle with the heat and humidity.”

María Pérez of Spain won her third world title as she took 35km gold to add to the 20km and 35km titles she won in Budapest two years ago.

Pérez clocked 2:39:01 as Antonella Palmisano of Italy – the Olympic 20km champion in Tokyo in 2021 – finished just over three minutes behind with Paula Milena Torres of Equador third.