Perseus Karlström was in the leading group directly from the start but then quickly lost pace on the one kilometer long loop outside the National Arena.
He was nine seconds behind the lead after nine kilometers – a distance that then only grew and grew.
23 seconds after 11 km, 27 after 13, 39 after 15 and 56 after almost half the race. Then he also got a cramp after 20 km.
In the end, the Swede – who had dyed his hair yellow for the day – finished in 19th place with a time of 2.37.47, he had to be wheeled from the finish line to the medical tent in a wheelchair.
The winner Dunfee completed the distance in 2.28.22.
Karlström traveled to Japan's capital with a focus on performing as best as possible on the 35 kilometer walk.
At the same time, the 35-year-old was uncertain about what he could achieve.
This doubt was partly due to the virus he was affected by during the spring and which forced him to take a break of four weeks, partly due to his new training schedule.
I have had a fairly new training schedule this season and do not have much to compare with previous years. The training sessions have been good, in any case. How good? It's hard to say since the schedule has been different, he said earlier during a press conference in Tokyo.
Perseus Karlström, who already has four World Championship medals, still has a chance to extend his World Championship trend. During the championship's second to last day, on September 20, he will be competing for a medal on the 20 kilometer distance.
