Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The 35km race walk is a road event contested on a looped circuit, where athletes must maintain contact with the ground at all times and keep the advancing leg straight from ground contact until it passes under the body. These technique rules distinguish race walking from running. The discipline originated in 17th-century Great Britain and appeared as an Olympic event in 1904, although the 35km distance is contested at the World Athletics Championships, not the Olympic Games.
The 35km event replaced the 50km race walk as a standard championship discipline in 2022, making it a relatively new distance. Official world records for the event have been recognized since January 2023. The women’s world record is held by María Pérez of Spain, who completed the distance in 2:37:15 in May 2023. For men, the world record is yet to be ratified. The fastest ratifiable time is 2:22:53, set by China’s He Xianghong in March 2023, though Vladimir Kanaykin clocked a faster 2:21:31 in 2006 under non-ratifiable conditions.
The transition from the 50km to the 35km race walk has led many athletes to switch events. The inaugural men's gold medal at 35km was won by Massimo Stano of Italy at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. In 2023, Álvaro Martín of Spain earned gold, with Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado taking silver. On the women's side, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia León won gold in 2022 and silver in 2023, while María Pérez took the 2023 gold.