In the Russian race walking capital of Cheboksary yesterday, Denis Nizhegorodov improved the World 50 km record to 3:35:29, while retaining his national 50km title.

Nizhegorodov, who is 23 years of age, came 5th in the 50km World Championships in Paris last summer in his previous personal of 3:38:23 (27 August) which at the time made him the eighth fastest walker on the all-time list. 

His World record walk in Cheboksary improves the 3:36:03 mark which Poland’s Robert Korzeniowski set when winning the World title.

Second behind Nizhegorodov in yesterday's Russian national championships, was Vladimir Potemin with 3:39:34.

Nizhegorodov had also won the 2003 national title race in Cheboksary in a time of 3:43:27.

Until 2003, Nizhegorodov’s main championship credentials had been over 20km with a 17th place finish (1:22:40) in the 2000 European Race Walking Cup in Eisenhüttenstad, improving to 7th in the Cup in Dudince in 2001 (1:20:42), and he took 5th (1:23:32) at the Under-23 European Championships of the same year in Amsterdam.

He has a personal best for 20km of 1:18:20 (2001).

IAAF and Mirko Jalava