Doha: Toshikazu Yamanishi completed a walk golden double for Japan at the World Athletics Championships winning the 20 kilometres title.
The 23-year-old former world youth champion timed 1 hour 26 minutes 34 seconds in Doha on Friday night.
Yamanishi — whose compatriot Yusuke Suzuki became the first Japanese male athlete to win the 50km walk last Sunday — had the world leading time this year coming into the event.
However, an indication of the toughness of the conditions saw him finish 10 minutes off that time.
Yamanishi’s victory ensured Japan became the first country to win both men’s titles since Spain in 1993.
Yamanishi came home 15sec clear of Vasily Mizinov, competing as an Authorised Neutral Athlete due to the IAAF’s ban on Russia because of the doping scandal.
Perseus Karlstrom secured Sweden’s first medal of the championships, taking bronze in a time of 1hr 27min.
AFP
