{ "id": "7877", "author": "23", "title": "World Athletics Championships: Spanish Race Walker Martin Wins Opening Gold", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "0000", "article_type": "general", "excerpt": "World Athletics Championships: Spain's Alvaro Martin claimed the first gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships by winning the men's 20km race walk here on Saturday.", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

World Athletics Championships:<\/strong> Spain's Alvaro Martin claimed the first gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships by winning the men's 20km race walk here on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

This was the only final in the morning session on the first day and the start was delayed because of inclement weather.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

However, Martin did not allow the delay to distract him as he came up with a tactical race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The 29-year-old pushed himself forward with 5km to go, winning his first gold in a major event with this season's world-leading result of 1:17:32, reports Xinhua.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"I had an amazing race today, I did not expect to finish this fast, it is amazing. I cannot express all my feelings right now, it feels like a dream," said Martin, as all of the top eight finalists improved their personal bests in the race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden finished second in 1:17:39, followed by Brazil's Caio Bonfim in 1:17:47.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Martin had finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and said missing out on the bronze medal then had motivated him to work harder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"The next goal is gold at the Olympic Games, but the only thing I want to do now is to cry out of happiness. I am going to enjoy this moment," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The race at the Heroes' Square in Budapest's city centre was delayed for two hours due to a thunderstorm, and the 50 athletes started the race in heavy rain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Japan's Olympic silver medalist Koki Ikeda led for a long time but faded in the final stages. The 25-year-old had to settle for a 15th-place finish in 1:19:44.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Ikeda's compatriot Toshikazu Yamanishi, who won the event at the previous two World Championships, finished 24th in 1:21:39.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/b> Cricket History<\/a><\/p>

China's Zhang Jun, who had led this year's world list with 1:17:38, finished 29th in 1:23:13. The National Games champion admitted that he had been affected by the cold weather and the delayed start to the race.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2023\/08\/world-athletics-championships-spanish-race-walker-martin-wins-opening-gold-1692529025.jpg", "alt_img": "World Athletics Championships: Spanish race walker Martin wins opening gold", "alt_title": "World Athletics Championships: Spanish race walker Martin wins opening gold ", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "World Athletics Championships: Spanish Race Walker Martin Wins Opening Gold On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "World Athletics Championships: Spain's Alvaro Martin claimed the first gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships by winning the, World Athletics Championships: Spanish Race Walker Martin Wins Opening Gold.", "seo_keywords": "Alvaro Martin, World Athletics Championships, Perseus Karlstrom, Caio Bonfim, Tokyo Olympics, Olympic Games, Koki Ikeda, Toshikazu Yamanishi, World Championships, Zhang Jun, The National Games", "tag": null, "tagging": "Alvaro Martin, World Athletics Championships, Perseus Karlstrom, Caio Bonfim, Tokyo Olympics, Olympic Games, Koki Ikeda, Toshikazu Yamanishi, World Championships, Zhang Jun, The National Games", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "world-athletics-championships-spanish-race-walker-martin-wins-opening-gold", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1189", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2023-08-20 16:27:05", "updated": "2023-08-20 16:27:05", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Alvaro Martin, World Athletics Championships, Perseus Karlstrom, Caio Bonfim, Tokyo Olympics, Olympic Games, Koki Ikeda, Toshikazu Yamanishi, World Championships, Zhang Jun, The National Games", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "12", "jio_date": "2023-08-20 16:27:05", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "0", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "sports_name": "others", "cnmid": "779482", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/sports-news\/world-athletics-championships-spanish-race-walker-martin-wins-opening-gold-7877" }