Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez continued Spain’s dominance in race walking at the World Athletics Championships by clinching gold in the 35-kilometer events, following their victories in the 20km races last weekend. Martin emerged as the winner in the men’s race, crossing the finish line in two hours, 24 minutes, and 30 seconds, fending off a strong challenge from Ecuador’s Brian Pintado. Perez, on the other hand, set a championship record time of 2:38:40 in the women’s race, finishing over two minutes ahead of defending champion Kimberly Garcia Leon.
Perez’s victory was never in doubt as she outperformed Peru’s Garcia Leon, who finished in 2:40:52. Antigoni Drisbioti of Greece, the European champion, secured the third spot with a season’s best time of 2:43:22.
After early leader Aurelien Quinion of France fell behind and was eventually disqualified, Martin found himself sharing the lead with Pintado and Japan’s Masatora Kawano in the final 4km. However, he broke away in the last 2km, setting a national record and crossing the finish line just four seconds ahead of Pintado. Kawano finished third with a season’s best time of 2:25:12. Defending champion Massimo Stano of Italy ended up in the seventh position, completing the race in 2:25:59.
“I am extremely exhausted,” Martin expressed. “Finishing fourth in the Olympic Games and narrowly missing out on a medal was mentally challenging. Winning a double world championship in Budapest is absolutely amazing. I see Maria is also the first in the women’s race, so today is a fantastic day for Spain.”
In another event, Norway’s Karsten Warholm showcased a determined performance to regain his 400m hurdles title. Despite pressure from his perennial rival Rai Benjamin on the final bend, Warholm held his ground and sprinted to victory in 46.89 seconds, securing his third world title.
However, it was a story of disappointment for Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway in the 1500m race. Starting as the favorite, Ingebrigtsen once again fell short of expectations as he was outrun by British athlete Josh Kerr, who claimed the gold.
Two women’s finals had contrasting outcomes. Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic clinched her first global title in the 400m, setting a national record time of 48.76 seconds after finishing with silver at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s world championships.
The pole vault event witnessed an exciting back-and-forth battle between Olympic champion Katie Moon of the United States and Australian Nina Kennedy. Eventually, both athletes agreed to share the gold medal with a mark of 4.90m, reminiscent of the men’s high jump at the Tokyo Olympics when Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy opted to share the honors instead of going for a jump-off.