World Athletics Championships Kick off in Tokyo, Japan’s Hayato Katsuki Earns Bronze in Race Walk (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:25 JST, September 13, 2025

The World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 kicked off in the capital on Saturday with race walker Hayato Katsuki taking home the bronze, earning Japan its first medal.

The championships are being held in Japan for the third time. Tokyo hosted the 1991 championships and Osaka hosted in 2007.

More than 2,000 athletes from about 200 countries and regions are expected to take part in 49 disciplines over nine days through Sept. 21.

For the men’s and women’s 35-kilometer race walks, which were the first events, competitors started and finished at Japan National Stadium in Shinjuku Ward. Spectators lined up along the ginkgo tree-lined avenue in the Meiji Jingu Gaien area, cheering along the athletes as they passed through.

In the men’s event, Katsuki, 34, finished third with a time of 2 hours 29 minutes 16 seconds, marking the sixth consecutive world championships in which a Japanese athlete won a medal in race walk.

Canada’s Evan Dunfee, 34, won gold with a time of 2:28:22. Masatora Kawano, 26, who led until late in the race, faded to finish in 18th place.

Yukiko Umeno, 22, who came in 15th, was the first Japanese athlete to finish in the women’s race.

“I really wanted to win the race, but the world’s top athletes were so much faster than I imagined,” Katsuki said after the race. “Still, I hope, at the very least, this medal gives Team Japan a boost.”