European 20km race walk bronze medallist Francesco Fortunato from Italy was a commanding winner at the 94th Podebrady Walking meeting on Friday (8) evening, establishing the inaugural European half marathon race walk record in the process.
Fortunato cut loose from a world class field including world champion Ciao Bonfim from Brazil in the closing laps to take the victory in 1:23:00, comfortably inside the European record target time of 1:23:30.
The Italian won by a comfortable margin over Bonfim in 1:23:40 with German veteran Christopher Linke third in a national record of 1:23:40. Reigning European 20km race walk champion Perseus Karlstrom from Sweden, a multiple winner in Podebrady over the years, was tenth in 1:25:31.
This was the 31-year-old’s second significant triumph in the Czech spa town after winning individual gold at the 2023 European Race Walking Team Championships which were staged in Podebrady.
And with the European Athletics Championships less than 100 days away, Fortunato is the in-form man in European race walking. He was in sharp form during the indoor season when he set a 5000m race walk record of 17:54.48 before taking individual gold at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia.
"I couldn't be happier. Even though it wasn't easy to get here and compete again four weeks after winning the half marathon at the World [Race Walking] Team Championships, but I was focused and had a great feeling.
"I'm very happy with my last five kilometers, which were very fast, and with another important victory. I wasn't thinking about the European record; some of the strongest athletes were here, and now we'll see what happens this season," said Fortunato as quoted by FIDAL.
Full results here.