EUGENE, Ore. -- Toshikazu Yamanishi won the men's 20-kilometer race walk on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Friday in Eugene, Ore., making him the first Japanese in history to repeat as a world or Olympic champion in the sport.
Yamanishi clocked 1 hour 19 minutes 7 seconds to add to the gold he won three years ago in Doha and finish seven seconds ahead of Olympic silver medalist and compatriot Koki Ikeda -- giving Japan its first-ever 1-2 finish at the World Athletics Championships.
"I'm really proud of myself," said Yamanishi, who was coming off a disappointing third-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
Yamanishi and Ikeda were among the lead pack from the start and broke away from their closest competitors before the 18-kilometer mark. The 26-year-old Yamanishi pulled away in the final kilometer to take the gold.
"I wanted to dictate how the race evolved," Yamanishi said.
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