"Pretty happy, once I got to about 10km to go there really wasn't any change in positions. There were a couple of people that just died and came back but apart from that my position was pretty steady so it was just a case of trying ride out that last 10km and not get another card, I was on two red cards for most of the race so it was a shame that I wasn't able push on a bit more but overall yeah really happy with that," said Rew.
"I slowed down a far bit in the last 10km, but I was sufficiently up on my pace that I was able push through a little bit and even though I died a little bit I still came through with a reasonable finish."
The 31 year old was surprised when advised that he had also surpassed the Rio Olympic Games nomination standard of 3:50:00.
"Oh yeah I forgot about that, no that's good.
"I said before the race it wasn't something I was focussed on at all because I know I was going to get that time, whether it was here or another day, but to do it today in the conditions it shows I'm in pretty good shape and should be able to keep improving, it's nice to have it out of the way and to focus on the big goals," he said.
New Zealand's best placing at a world championships in the 50km walk, is eighth by Craig Barrett in Seville in 1999 in 3:54:38.
