Race Walking Joins the Olympic Games
Although by the early 1900s, race walking's popularity was on the decline, its popularity gained a little boost when it was added to the Olympic Games. Many people believe walking's induction to the Olympics occurred at the 1908 games; however, it was actually somewhat before that. In 1904, the race walk made its first appearance in the Olympics as an 880-yard racing event within the decathlon. It was also included in the 1906 Interim Olympic Games in Athens, but these games were never recognized as official.
Early Race Walking Rules
The rules governing race walking in the early years, while worded differently, are surprisingly similar in intent to the rules of today. While I will not list all of them here, here is a sample of the most relevant rule pertaining to the action of the legs:
"As the foremost foot in taking a step touches the ground, the knee must not be bent. The heel must touch the ground first and the toe be the last portion of the foot to leave it. It is imperative that the heel of the foremost foot must touch the ground before the toe of the other foot ceases to have contact with it."
Modern Day Race Walking
Today race walking is governed by a two part definition that separates it from running or walking.
- Race walking is a progression of steps so taken that the walker makes contact with the ground so that no visible (to the human eye) loss of contact occurs.
- The advancing leg must be straightened (i.e., not bent at the knee) from the moment of first contact with the ground until in the vertical upright position.
While there are many nuances to learning and perfecting race walking, if you follow the previous two part definition, you are a race walker. Following these rules will make you a faster and safer walker. If you perfect them, perhaps you could walk as fast as some of the best in the world.
How fast is that? The 20K men's world record is 1:17:25 (set by Vladimir Kanaykin of Russia). That's walking more than 12 miles at just over six minutes a mile pace! Similarly impressive is the 20K women's world record at 1:25:11 (set by Olga Kaniskina) and the 50K (31 miles) men's world record of 3:35:47 (set by Nathan Deakes of Australia).
Stay tuned for more articles explaining how to become a recreational or competitive race walker.