{
  "id": 16468850,
  "title": "Heel, toe, history: Japanese man racewalks 42km marathon in under 2:56",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/heel-toe-history-japanese-man-racewalks-42km-marathon-in-under-2-56",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-25T11:22:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2026/10/25/heel-toe-history-japanese-man-racewalks-42km-marathon-in-under-256/240569"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a remarkable display of endurance, Japanese athlete Masatora Kawano shattered the men's marathon race walk world record at the All Japan Race Walking meeting in Yamagata Prefecture. Kawano, a two-time world championships medalist, raced a grueling 42.195 kilometers in a time of 2 hours, 55 minutes and 14 seconds, according to Kyodo News.\n\nWorld Athletics recently approved the marathon race walk, a contest over the traditional marathon distance, as the replacement for the 35-kilometer race walk at major championships in December 2024. The new event officially debuted in January and required a performance standard of 2:56:30 for the inaugural men's world record, which Kawano became the first to achieve.\n\nThe Yamagata meet served as a qualifier for the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, set to take place in September. Australia's Rebecca Henderson also made history by winning the women's race with a time of 3:14:52. Kawano, 28 years old, is no stranger to world records, having previously held the world record in the 35-kilometer event. Prior to the marathon race walk, he finished sixth in the men's 50-kilometer race at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.",
  "summary": "TOKYO, Oct 25 — Japanese athlete Masatora Kawano set a men’s marathon race walk world record at the All Japa...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}