Two World Records In One Day! Pérez And Fiorini Rewrite Race Walk History

History was made twice at the European Championships on Saturday as Spain’s María Pérez and Italy’s Sofia Fiorini set world records in the inaugural women’s half-marathon and marathon race walk events.

Pérez struck first, claiming gold in the women’s half-marathon race walk in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 6 seconds. The 30-year-old Spaniard’s performance established the first official world record for the distance after it was recognised as an official race walk event in January.

The record-breaking action continued around two hours later when 21-year-old Fiorini crossed the finish line in 3 hours, 15 minutes and 11 seconds to win the women’s marathon race walk title.

Both performances surpassed the standards set by World Athletics for the inaugural world records. The governing body had established marks of 1:30:30 for the half marathon and 3:17:00 for the marathon.

Pérez bettered the half-marathon standard by 24 seconds, while Fiorini smashed the marathon benchmark by 1 minute and 49 seconds.

The landmark performances made Pérez and Fiorini the inaugural official world-record holders for the two distances, although both records remain subject to the usual ratification process.

For Pérez, the achievement adds another major record to her career. The Spanish star already holds the world record for the 35-kilometre race walk, underlining her status as one of the leading figures in the discipline.

The double record-breaking feat gave the European Championships a historic moment as the newly recognised women's race walk distances produced their first official world champions and world-record holders.