陸上りくじょう世界せかい選手権せんしゅけん女子じょし20キロ競歩きょうほ藤井ふじい菜々子ななこが銅どうメダル獲えた

At the Womens 20km Race Walk at the World Athletics Championships being held in Tokyo, Nanako Fujii set a new Japanese record with a time of 1 hour 26 minutes and 18 seconds, winning the bronze medal.

This is the first time that a Japanese female race walker has won a medal in either the Olympics or the World Championships.

The World Athletics Championships, held in Tokyo for the first time in 34 years, entered its eighth day on the morning of the 20th, with the womens 20-kilometer race walk taking place. The event started and finished at the National Stadium, with competitors completing 18 laps of a 1-kilometer course around the Jingu Gaien area.

Of these, 26-year-old Fujii, who holds the Japanese record and was making his fourth consecutive appearance at the event, stuck with the lead group from the start and developed the race.

After passing the 15-kilometer mark, he moved up to third place, maintained his position with a persistent walk, and despite receiving a second warning around the last 3 kilometers, he returned to the National Stadium as he was.

On the track, an athlete from Ecuador was closing in, but she powered through with strong arm swings to maintain her lead, winning the bronze medal with a time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds—improving her own Japanese record by 15 seconds.

This is the first time that a Japanese female race walker has won a medal in either the Olympics or the World Championships.

In addition, among the Japanese athletes, Kumiko Okada finished 18th and Ayane Yanai finished 37th.

Nanako Fujii: Im deeply moved that I was able to run the race I had envisioned. Regarding breaking the Japanese record, Nanako Fujii said, I didnt notice it at all, and I never expected to set my best at this event, so Im really happy. She added with a smile, I came to this competition seriously aiming for a medal and to win, so I feel like things went just as I hoped, and Im deeply moved that I was able to run the race I had envisioned.

Regarding winning the first medal as a Japanese female athlete, she said, Until now, the men had won medals and people said, The women still have a long way to go, so I kept practicing, determined that I would definitely win a medal.

I think Ive taken the next big step, she said proudly, having achieved a historic first for Japanese womens race walking.

Yamamoto broke away from the lead group after passing the 15-kilometer mark and took the lead, but after receiving a third warning for a form violation, he had to wait in the penalty area for two minutes, which caused him to drop significantly in the rankings.

Ayato Yoshikawa of Japan finished in 7th place.