(Budapest) Canadian Evan Dunfee finished fourth in the 20-kilometre race on Saturday at the World Athletics Championships.

Dunfee, 32, from Richmond, B.C., broke a national record with a time of 1 hour 18 minutes and 3 seconds.

A bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and at the Worlds in 2019 in the 50km before the event was withdrawn from competition, Dunfee said he was happy with his performance.

“I proved to myself that I could still be competitive in the 20k,” he said. It’s funny how the brain works. I spent 10 years trying to get under the 1 hour 20 minute mark and when I crossed the finish line I thought to myself that I should have been under 1 hour 18 minutes. I always want to do better.

“I know fourth place must be a little bitter, you’re very close to a podium. But honestly, I couldn’t be happier. I worked hard to achieve this performance. »

Spaniard Alvaro Martin won gold with a time of 1:17.32, a world record. The Swede Perseus Karlstrom (1 min 17.39 s) and the Brazilian Caio Bonfim (1 min 17.47 s) accompanied him on the podium.

The start of the race was delayed two hours due to “possibility of lightning”. Dunfee will also compete in the 35km race walk on August 24.

Jean-Simon Desgagnés, from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, qualified for the final in the 3000 meter steeplechase. He finished second in his heat with a time of 8:20.04.

Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, BC, finished top of Pool A in the hammer throw qualifications. He shot 81.18 meters, a national record, to advance to the final.

Adam Keenan of Victoria will also be in the final on Sunday. He took sixth and last place to qualify for the final in Group A, with a shot of 74.56 meters.