Fujii Takes Bronze in 20km Race Walk, Sets Japanese Record at World Championships（UPDATE 3）

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:23 JST, September 20, 2025

Nanako Fujii secured a historic bronze medal in the women’s 20-kilometer race walk at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Saturday. Competing in her fourth straight championships, she finished with a Japanese national record of 1 hours 26 minutes 18 seconds, shaving 15 seconds off her previous record.

This is the first time a Japanese woman has medaled in a race walk event at the World Athletics Championships.

Spain’s Maria Perez won the gold medal with a time of 1:25:54.

This is the second medal for Japan at the championships, following Hayato Katsuki’s bronze in the men’s 35-kilometer race walk on the first day of the competition on Sept. 13.

Mexico’s Alegna Gonzalez won silver in 1:26:06. Kumiko Okada and Ayane Yanai finish 18th and 37th, respectively.

Meanwhile, Kento Yoshikawa, Satoshi Maruo and Toshikazu Yamanishi finish seventh, ninth and 28th, respectively, in Men’s 20km Race Walk.