Koki Ikeda came out on top in the men's 20km race ©Getty Images

Japan's Koki Ikeda put in an excellent performance to finish top of the podium in the men's 20 kilometres race at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Race Walking Team Championships in Taicang.

Ikeda managed to struggle through hot and humid conditions in the Chinese province of Jiangsu to win the race in a time of 1 hour 21min 31sec.

The 20-year-old was clever with his tactics and paced himself until the final turn of the race, when he strode away from his opponents towards the finish line.

Home athlete Kaihua Wang had to settle for silver with a time of 1:21:22 whilst Italy's Massimo Stano rounded off the podium with a time of 1:21:33.

Following his victory, Ikeda said: "I raced quite conservatively for the first 15km, but I accelerated over the last five kilometres and fought hard.

"My next goal is to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."

Koki Ikeda overtook his opponents on the last corner before crossing the finish line ©Getty Images
Koki Ikeda overtook his opponents on the last corner before crossing the finish line ©Getty Images

"There are many good race walkers in Japan, so I would like to learn from them."

Ikeda's win means Japan finish top of the overall table with a mark of 12 whilst Italy and China finished second and third on 29 and 42 respectively.

Japan swept the top three of the men's 50km yesterday.

The women's under-20 10km race was won by Alegna Gonzalez of Mexico thanks to a time of 45:08, her personal best in the discipline.

Ecuador's Glenda Morejon finished second with a time of 45:13 whilst Japan's Nanako Fujii claimed bronze in a time of 45:29.

The final standings saw hosts China finish top of the team table with a mark of 10, with Ecuador in second on 13 and Turkey on 15.