Walkers Dunfee and Perez enjoy golden start to world championships

TOKYO :Racewalkers Evan Dunfee of Canada and Spain's defending champion Maria Perez took the opening gold medals at the Athletics World Championships on Saturday, while the big beasts of the women's discus and men's shot advanced safely through qualifying.

Despite an early morning start, the humidity made for testing conditions for the walkers, but 34-year-old Dunfee battled through in two hours, 28 minutes and 22 seconds for his first global title.

"My coach and I have been together since I was 10 years old, and back then we sat down and set goals to become world champion and to set the world record. We managed to do both this year and it really is a dream come true," Dunfee said.

World record holder Perez, who did the 20km-35km double in Budapest two years ago, is on course to repeat it after a dominating victory in 2.39.01.

Once the walkers had departed, the field events took centre stage at the magnificent stadium, with a totally different atmosphere to when it hosted the COVID-delayed Olympics in 2021 athletics with no fans present.

American double Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman threw 66.07 metres to qualify comfortably for Sunday’s final, where she will hope to end her frustrating world title drought.

Allman has won five consecutive Diamond League titles and has not lost a competition in two years. Her world-leading throw of 73.52 metres in Ramona in April was the longest by anyone for more than 35 years, albeit aided by the wind-assisted “weather doping” of the venue.

Allman, who won Olympic gold in the same Tokyo stadium four years ago, has back-to-back bronzes in the world championships and will be desperate to top the podium this time.

Teammate Laulauga Tausaga, who beat her to gold in Paris, also advanced