Brazilian athlete Caio Bonfim reached the pinnacle of his career in Tokyo, but only at the expense of another life highlight.The 34-year-old racewalker won his first ever gold on the international stage during the 20kilometre stride, but had to finish it without his wedding ring.Bonfim was in bits after finally taking his first world titleGettyHe then explained he lost his ring early on in the raceg1 YouTubeHaving only taken bronzes and silvers previously at the world level, Bonfim saw off the competition to take his first world title despite the distraction of losing one of his prized possessions.A veteran compared to his competitors, Bonfim’s career has been characterised by near misses, including a silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and another in Tokyo days earlier in the 35km race.Yet in the shorter 20km event, he finally achieved glory, even knowing he may be in trouble when he gets home.“I lost my wedding ring in the third kilometer,” he said post-victory. “I don’t think my wife will mind because I won the gold medal.”The Brazilian had to make his way through the field, only overtaking China’s Zhaozhao Wang and Spain’s Paul McGrath on the final lap.Yet despite getting the ring incident out of his mind, he was so focused he didn’t realise he’d passed the race leader.“I thought I was in second, I was just thinking about winning another medal, without knowing it would be gold,” he added.That confusion came as the man who had been leading the pack, local hero Toshikazu Yamanishi, was given a hefty two-minute penalty for ‘illegal walking’ sending him down to 28th.Bonfim crossed the line with a time of one hour, 18 minutes and 35 seconds, eight seconds ahead of second-placed Wang.Entering the arena section of the course he suddenly became aware that he was in fact in the lead and then collapsed into a pool of emotion crossing the line.Bonfim was full of emotion at the lineAFPHe needed one of his teammate to pick him back upGettyWorld Athletics Championship history-makerWith a silver earlier in the week and bronzes in Budapest 2023 and London 2017, Bonfim has now won the most medals of any Brazilian in World Athletics Championships history.Speaking to the media post-race, he said: “I didn’t even know I was in first place. I had passed the Chinese and the Spanish athlete on the last lap. “I came into the stadium fast, because I thought, ‘Man, since I’m in second, the Spanish and the Chinese will fight it out, and I might lose the medal.’ “When I made the turn and looked toward the finish line, I glanced at the big screen first. And I said to myself, ‘My God, I’m going to be world champion.’ “And here it is—the world champion medal. Having it on my chest helped make it real.”Waiting for Bonfim in the stands was his mother Jeanette who was also racewalking champion.Bonfim headed to his mother who was also a racewalking championGettyHe then broke down talking about his kids at homeg1 YouTube“I went straight into the arms of my mother, Jeanette Bonfim, a former athlete in this very event,” he said.“My mother was an eight-time Brazilian champion. So I grew up in this environment—it’s our environment. “The emotion of a mother and the professionalism of a coach, all mixed together in one. “At the first world championships, she wasn’t even called up as a coach, since I was only just starting out. And yet we became world champions. I still can’t fully understand it.”Further explaining his emotions, he broke down when talking about being away from his three children.He finished: “Theo, my middle son. I called him today. He said, ‘Daddy, today Miguel, who’s the oldest, cried at school’. “Nobody wanted to tell me, but he ended up confessing. And he said it was because he missed you. “You spend five weeks away… and you ask yourself, is it worth it? And I said, ‘No—I’m here for him. So it has to be worth it’.”