Yohann Diniz of France smashed the world 50km walk record at the European Athletics Championships on Friday in a time of 3hr 32min 33sec.

The previous record of 3:34:14 was set by Russia's Denis Nizhegorodov in Cheboksary in May 2008.

The ecstatic 36-year-old Diniz even had time to stop for a few seconds to collect a Portuguese flag from a fan and also waved a French flag as he crossed the finishing line for his third successive European title in Zurich.

In changeable weather conditions, Diniz had to cope with rain, sun and wind as he seized control of the race with 14km to go.

He strode away to finish 3min 48sec in front of Slovakia's Matej Toth with Russian Ivan Noskov claiming bronze, a further 1min 20sec back.

Diniz's previous best time and the French record dated back to 2009 at Dudince, Slovakia when he clocked 3:38:45.

(AFP)