Kimberly Garcia broke the world record in the 35km race walk

Peruvian athlete Kimberly Garcia Leon broke the world record in the 35km race walk after clocking 2:37.44 hours at a race in Dudince, Slovakia.

The 20km and 35km world champion from Eugene 2022 bettered the previous best of 2:38:24 hours set by Russia’s Klavdiya Afanasyeva in 2019 and made a strong bid for gold at next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics.

China’s Liu Hong finished second in an Asian record 2:40:06 hours while Ecuador’s Magaly Bonilla finished third.

At the Paris 2024 Games, there will be only one women’s sport walking event at 20km, as well as a 35km mixed team event.

Kimberly Garcia Leon is a female racewalker from Peru. She won gold medals in the 20km walk and 35km walk at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first-ever Peruvian world medallist and the first Latin American to earn two titles at the same World Athletics Championships