Portugal's Henriques breaks women's 50km race walk world record, China wins surprise medals

LONDON - Portugal's Ines Henriques won the inaugural women's 50km race walk world title in style, setting a world record of four hours five minutes and 56 seconds on the final day of the London World Championships on Sunday.

Henriques broke her old mark of 4:08:26 set earlier this year to become the first female winner of the 50km race walk at the world championships.

A pair of unknown Chinese athletes became the surprising medalists as Yin Hang won the silver in an Asian record time of 4:08:58 and Yang Shuqing set a personal best of 4:20:49 to bag the bronze.

Yin, 20, was just in her second formal competition of the 50km race, the first being a domestic trial.

Earlier in the men's race, three-time European champion Yohann Diniz of France savored the world championships glory at the age of 39.

Diniz finished the most streneous event in 3:33:11, a Championship record time, to become the oldest male athlete in World Championships history to claim a gold medal.

Although the Frenchman's winning time was short of his own world record of 3:32:33, it is the second fastest time in history.

Japanese Hirooki Arai took the silver in 3:41:17 and his fellow countryman Kai Kobayashi was third in 3:41:19.