NAGOYA - Japan's Hayato Katsuki won the men's marathon race walk and Rimu Nakamura triumphed in the men's cycling BMX freestyle park for the host at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Katsuki clocked 3 hours, 3 minutes, 36 seconds at the Aichi-Nagoya Race Walking Course for his second Asian Games gold following his 50-kilometer title in Jakarta in 2018, becoming the first Japanese race walker to win two Asian Games gold medals.
"I'm really happy to get the top spot," said Katsuki, who was looking to break the world record until seeing the strict walking style rule application at the half marathon race walk on Wednesday.
"I had to carefully gauge how the judges would interpret my movement, especially concerning what point they might rule that I was losing contact with the ground," he added, stating he "played it safe" after breaking clear for the final 10 km.
Nakamura, Japan's flagbearer at the opening ceremony, scored 92.80 points on his first attempt before improving to 96.20 on his second and final run.
"I'm fairly satisfied with how I rode in my second run. I was really looking forward to this event with BMX making its Asian Games debut and being hosted right here in Japan," said Nakamura, who came fifth in both the Tokyo Games and at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
"Winning gold here is definitely a huge confidence booster."
Hikaru Mori became the first Japanese to claim trampoline gymnastics gold by winning the women's event, while the host finished its fencing campaign with six golds, with its women's sabre team taking silver.
The Japan baseball team, composed of corporate team players, lost the final to South Korea 3-1.
In esports, Japan won gold in Pokemon Unite by beating Indonesia 3-1 in the final.
