Fernandez sets 10 km Race Walk world record

(BEIJING, July 28) -- Francisco Javier Fernandez has set a new 10 km-meter Race Walk world record at the Spanish Championships on July 27, with a time of 37 minutes, 53.09 seconds.

"After this race, it is obvious that I am in form and going to aim for a medal in Beijing,although I will find some very difficult rivals there" Fernandez said, according to an official report from the Spanish Athletics Federation

The Spaniard, who specialises in the 20 km walk, was runner-up at Athens four years ago. In May of this year, he won gold in the 20 km walk at the 2008 the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Race Walking Cup, held in the streets of Cheboksary, Russia.

Fernandez goes into the Beijing Olympic Games as a pre-race favorite, having won medals in every Olympic, World, Championship and European Championship event since 2002, according to the IAAF.