AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
It took just one event for Canada to win its first gold medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Evan Dunfee delivered a remarkable performance to clinch the world title in the men’s 35km race walk, an event that marked the beginning of the championships in Tokyo. He finished with a stellar time of 2:28:22, crossing the line 33 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Caio Bonfim from Brazil. Japan’s Hayato Katsuki, who led for much of the race, secured bronze in 2:29:16.
“It’s a dream come true. It’s 25 years in the making,” Dunfee beamed after his victory, making history as Canada’s first world champion race walker. “Gerry [Dragomir], my coach, and I sat down when I started this journey. We asked ourselves, how big can we dream? Gold medals and world records seemed like good goals!”
During the race, Dunfee initially found himself in fourth and fifth place, trailing the lead pack by approximately half a minute. Competing in his seventh world championship at age 34, he made a decisive move with less than eight kilometers left. He quickly jumped into second place and took the lead with just two kilometers to go.
The final moments of the race were laden with drama; Dunfee briefly stopped to shake out a hamstring issue but fought through the pain. As he approached the stadium, he proudly hoisted a Canadian flag high above his head, marking a triumphant finish.
“The hardest thing I’ve ever done. That last 2k was agonizing,” he reflected. “I was focusing on my support team back home, people who believe in me. It was one more step, one more step!” The intensity of that last stretch, he admitted, was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Earlier this year, Dunfee had set the world record in the 35km race walk with a time of 2:21:40. However, that record was surpassed two months later by Italy’s Massimo Stano, the 2022 world champion, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury for this championship.
Dunfee has now earned two world championship medals, having previously secured a bronze in the 50km race walk in 2019. He followed that up with an Olympic bronze in the same event, which was notably absent from major global competitions last year. At the time, logistical concerns over the summer heat moved the road races to Sapporo rather than through the streets of the bustling Tokyo.
Looking ahead, Dunfee is set to compete again next Saturday in the men’s 20km race walk. He notably finished fifth in this event at the Paris 2024 Olympics and is eager to build upon his recent triumph.