Spanish race walker Martin wins opening gold at Athletics Worlds

Spain's Alvaro Martin wins the men's 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

BUDAPEST, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Alvaro Martin claimed the first gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships by winning the men's 20km race walk here on Saturday.

Martin, 29, pushed himself forward with 5km to go, winning his first gold in a major event with this season's world leading result of 1:17:32.

"I had an amazing race today, I did not expect to finish this fast, it is amazing. I cannot express all my feelings right now, it feels like a dream," said Martin, as all of the top eight finalists improved their personal bests in the race.

Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden finished second in 1:17:39, followed by Brazil's Caio Bonfim in 1:17:47.

Runner-up Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden, winner Alvaro Martin of Spain and third placed Caio Bonfim of Brazil (from L to R) attend the awarding ceremony for the men's 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Martin had finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, and said missing out on the bronze medal then had motivated him to work harder.

"The next goal is gold at the Olympic Games, but the only thing I want to do now is to cry out of happiness. I am going to enjoy this moment," he said.

The race at the Heroes' Square in Budapest's city centre was delayed for two hours due to a thunderstorm, and the 50 athletes started the race in heavy rain.

Athletes compete in the men's 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 19, 2023. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

Japan's Olympic silver medalist Koki Ikeda led for a long time, but faded in the final stages. The 25-year-old had to settle for a 15th-place finish in 1:19:44.

Ikeda's compatriot Toshikazu Yamanishi, who won the event at the previous two World Championships, finished 24th in 1:21:39.

China's Zhang Jun, who had led this year's world list with 1:17:38, finished 29th in 1:23:13. The National Games champion admitted that he had been affected by the cold weather and the delayed start to the race. ■