(Reuters) - The men's 20 kilometres race walk world record was broken for the second time in a week on Sunday when Japan's Yusuke Suzuki set a new mark at the Asian Race Walking Championships.
Exactly a week after Frenchman Yohann Diniz set a mark of 1:17:02 in Arles, the 27-year-old Suzuki shaved almost half a minute off it to finish in a time of 1:16:36 in his hometown of Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture.
Suzuki, a renowned fast starter, blasted away from the outset, covering the first six km in 22:53 and going through the halfway mark in a national 10 km record of 38:05.
His blistering pace dropped off slightly with around four km to go but he finished strongly to record his third Asian title after victories in 2010 and 2013.