Caio Bonfim, 34, is world champion in the 20 km march. The Brazilian made a strategic race on the Japanese morning of Saturday (20), still Brazilian night of Friday (19), and won the gold of the race at the 2025 Athletics World Cup, held in Tokyo.
Sobradinho competitor, Federal District, had already taken silver in 35 km, a week earlier. With the Bronzes of 2017, in London, 20 km, and 2023, in Budapest, also 20 km, started to total four podiums in worldwide.
No athlete in Brazil got so many medals in the history of the competition. Bonfim left the sprinter Claudinei Quirino behind, who was bronze in 1997 in Athens, 200 m, and climbed to the podium twice in 1999 in Seville: silver in 200 me bronze in the 4 x 100 m relay.
The athlete now entered the group of Brazilians winners of the Athletics World Cup. They also received Fabiana Murer gold medal, in the jump with stick, in Daegu, in 2011, and Alison dos Santos, at 400 m with barriers, in Eugene, in 2022.
Caio also has an Olympic silver medal in his curriculum. In last year’s games, held in Paris, was in second place in the 20 km race, celebrating a lot.
At the Tokyo World Cup, he celebrated even more. After crossing the finish line, he spent a few seconds on the floor, wrapped in the victory tape, gaining breath. Then he went towards the stands: “I’m the world champion, I’m not the second, no.”
It was a proof of strategy of the Brazilian, who spent much of the route, on the outskirts of the Japan National Stadium, in the second platoon. He took the lead briefly, returned to the second platoon and kept a drag for the final two kilometers.
The Japanese Toshikazu Yamanishi, who led the dispute, had a two -minute punishment for three sliding absences (simultaneously taking both feet off the ground). And Caio left furiously over the remaining opponents.
When he entered the stadium, he already had a considerable advantage over the competitors. And managed to keep the pace to complete the dispute in first position and expand its importance in the history of Brazilian athletics.
Bonfim ended the journey in 1h18min35, followed by Chinese Wang Zhaozhao (1h18min43) and Spanish Paul McGrath (1h18min45). It was then carried by the other two Brazilians who were in the race, Matheus Corrêa and Max Batista Gonçalves dos Santos.
