Spain’s Martin defends European 20km race walk title

Spain’s Alvaro Martin retained the 20km race walk title at the European Athletics Championships in Munich on Saturday.

Martin, who previously won the Euro title in Berlin in 2018 but finished fourth at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, timed a personal best of 1hr 19min 11sec around the streets of the Bavarian capital in cool conditions.

Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom, twice a bronze medallist at last month’s world championships in Oregon, claimed silver in 1:19.23, with another Spaniard, Diego Garcia Carrera, rounding out the podium, a further 0.22sec adrift.

Olympic champion Massino Stano of Italy, the world 35km race walk gold medallist, came in eighth more than two minutes off Martin’s pace.