María Pérez retained her 35km title with a dominant victory in the 35km event at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday (13).
The decorated Spaniard, widely regarded as the world’s finest female race walker made her decisive move with around a third of the race yet to complete, breaking away from a pack of five contenders.
At that point, the 29-year-old’s surge turned the closing stages into a solo time trial.
Perez crossed the line in 2:39:01, more than three minutes clear of Italy’s Antonella Palmisano, adding yet another major title to her glittering collection that now includes three world gold medals, mixed marathon relay gold and 20km silver from last summer’s Paris Olympics and a 20km gold from the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.
She is also the world record holder with 2:37.15 clocked at the European Race Walking Team Championships in Poděbrady in 2023.
Stifling humidity
Competing in stifling humidity despite the early 7:30 a.m. start time, Perez seemed unaffected by the conditions. She had already shown her resilience earlier this year, back in Poděbrady, winning in a world-leading 2:38:59.
On the biggest stage, she came within two seconds of that mark and still had enough energy to leap across the finish line, Spanish flag raised in triumph, before collapsing on the track in delight in the National Stadium.
Palmisano also underscored her incredible longevity at the top level, winning silver in 2:42.24. The Tokyo Olympic champion and European champion over 20km won her third medal at the World Athletics Championships to go with 20km bronze medals won at London 2017 and Budapest 2023.
Ecuador’s Paula Milena Torres completed the podium with bronze, a further 20 seconds adrift.
Chasing world record
Reflecting on her performance, Perez said: “I wanted to win medals in two races here, so I am happy. I was aiming for the world record, but the weather made it difficult. I want to thank all the Japanese fans - they learned my name and cheered on the last lap. Even far from home, it felt like home.”
Her focus now shifts to the 20km event, where she’ll have a week to recover. Though she completed the double in Budapest two years ago, it will likely present a sterner test. Perez currently sits only 14th on this season’s global list for the shorter distance.
In the men’s race, France’s Aurélien Quinion was the leading European, placing fifth in 2:30.24 in a race won by Canada’s Evan Dunfee in 2:28:22.