Race Walking!

What activity started in 1880, has been an Olympic sport since 1904 and is governed by rules known as ‘Straight Leg Rule’ and ‘Loss of Contact’?

Race walking of course! It’s a long-distance foot race in which the athletes must walk and not run. There are basically two rules of race walking: firstly the back toe of the athlete cannot leave the ground until the heel of the front foot has touched the ground, secondly the supporting leg must straighten from the point of contact with the ground and remain straightened until the body passes directly over it. It’s not as simple as it sounds, and race walkers have to keep up rigorous training schedules, just as runners do.  

Although the sport originated in England it has been dominated by Russians. The world record for the Women’s 20km walk is 1:24:50 by Olimpiada Ivanova and the Men’s world record is held by Sergey Morozov, with a time of 1:26:46, they are both from Russia.  

Here is a YouTube clip of what it’s all about: http://bit.ly/n04wq2

Try it yourself; see if you have the Race Walking bug, we’ll make sure to look for you at the 2012 London Olympics!