Evan Dunfee sets 35km race walk world record

Evan Dunfee from Canada set a new world record in the men's 35-kilometre race walk. This achievement took place during the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event in Dudince, Slovakia, on Saturday. Dunfee, 34 years old and from Richmond, British Columbia, finished the race in two hours, 21 minutes, and 40 seconds. He broke the previous record by seven seconds. Dunfee started strong and maintained his lead throughout the race, even lapping many competitors in the 50-man field. At the 5-kilometre mark, he was already 30 seconds ahead of his nearest rivals. He maintained an impressive pace of four minutes per kilometre. After the race, Dunfee expressed his joy, saying, "It was a dream come true. I'm so proud to be on that winners plaque here at Dudince." Christopher Linke from Germany took second place, finishing three minutes behind Dunfee. Mexico's Jose Doctor secured third place with a time of 2:24:41. The previous record was held by Japan's Kawano Masatora since last October. This marks Dunfee's second record in two months. He also broke the North American record in the men's 20-kilometre event last February in Australia. Dunfee is a three-time Olympian and won Canada’s first Olympic medal in race walking with a bronze in the 50-kilometre event at the Tokyo Games in 2021. However, the 50K event is no longer included in the Olympics.