The men's 20 kilometres walk at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held on a 1 kilometer loop course on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

After a couple hundred metres in the spotlight, Toshikazu Yamanishi went by en route to a 3:55 first kilometer.

Just after the halfway mark, Yamanishi dropped a 3:51 lap and continued the pressure, the pack dwindled to 9, then 7 as the third 5K was covered in 19:24.

With four laps to go, it was down to three leaders, Yamanishi, his encouraging teammate Koki Ikeda and Kenyan Samuel Gathimba.

Yamanishi edged back ahead, the on his final lap dropped a 3:41 to separate from his teammate Ikeda.