Lebogang Shange smashed his South African record in the 10km Walk on Monday, at the Around Taihu Multi-day International Race Walking Competition in Wuxi, China.
Shange finished the race in 39:48, bettering his own national mark of 40:29 which had been set in Rome in May last year.
It was his second SA record in the space of a month after he took fourth position in the 20km race in 1:19:18 at the recent IAAF World Championships in London, England.
Dane Bird-Smith of Australia, the Olympic bronze medallist in the 20km Walk, finished second in the 10km race in China in 39:55.
On Sunday’s opening day of competition at the four-day event, Shange was among the quickest athletes in the 20km Walk, covering the distance in 1:24:21.
He held the overall lead at the midway point of the annual event, while countryman Wayne Snyman was lying 12th overall after clocking 1:27:32 and 40:39 in the 20km and 10km races respectively.