The 28 year old athlete had won first place last week in the 20-kilometre distance.
The Peruvian athlete Kimberly García became this Friday the first female athlete to win the two races of the walk in a World Athletics Championship, which this 2022 takes place in Oregon, USA.
The South American athlete achieved the feat after winning the medal of gold in the distance of 35 kilometers (km). Last week, García won first place in the 20 km test and had become the first Peruvian athlete, including the male branch, to win a world title in athletics.
“I always dreamed of making history in a sport that I am passionate about”, said Garcia quoted by World Athletics. The now double world champion, originally from Huancayo, Peru, emulated the feat achieved in the men’s category by Polish walker Robert Korzeniowski, who won the 20 and 50 km races at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION
Peru's Kimberly Garcia Leon completes a historic race walking double as she wins the women's 35km in 2:39:16 🇵🇪 #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/21Yw3X7Rjh
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 22, 2022
The Peruvian also goes down in history as the winner of the first 35 km race women’s walk that takes place in a World Athletics Championship.
García crossed the a with a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 16 seconds (2:39:16), which meant a South American record and four minutes less than her previous personal best.
HISTORIA PARA EL PERÚ 👏
Kimberly García León 🇵🇪 strikes world 35km race walk gold only one week after her 20k title.
Peru, which had never won any world medal up until this year, is now 5th on the medal table!#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/pq56xyLUS5
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 22, 2022
Second place went to Polish Katarzyna Zdzieblo, with a mark of 2:40:03; and the third for the Chinese Qieyang Shijie, who set an Asian record with 2:40:37.
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry congratulated the athlete on Twitter and highlighted that his historic achievements “excite all the Peruvians and contribute to strengthening the image” of the country.