This Canadian Olympian walks 10K faster than you can run it

On Monday in Canberra, Australia, Canadian three-time Olympic racewalker Evan Dunfee broke his own Canadian record for 10,000m with a time most people couldn’t even run. Dunfee walked to a new personal best of 38:08.50, shaving 18 seconds off his previous record and setting a new Pan-American (area) record in the process.

To put Dunfee’s record-breaking walk in perspective, he averaged a pace of 3:49 per kilometre and a speed of almost 16 km/h. This was the 10th Canadian race walk record of his career, six of which are North American area records.

If you’re unfamiliar with the rules of race walking, athletes must maintain contact with the ground at all times. The leading leg must be straightened from the moment of first contact until it passes under the body. Referees monitor the form to ensure athletes are compliant with the rules. If a competitor accumulates three warnings, they might be given a time penalty or a disqualification.

Dunfee is the most decorated race walker in Canadian history. He won a bronze medal for Canada in the men’s 50 km discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2019 World Championships. He also finished just off the podium at the Rio 2016 and Paris 2024 Olympics, placing fourth and fifth, respectively.

The 34-year-old from Richmond, B.C., won the Supernova 10,000m event by a large margin, beating the second and third-place finishers by nearly a minute. Dunfee is one of five Canadian male athletes to have already hit the qualifying standard for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September.