Race walking events at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. There were three race walking events in the 2020 Summer Olympics: a men's and a women's 20 kilometres walk, and a men's 50 kilometres walk. The races were held in a final-only format.
| Race walking at the Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
 The 2004 Olympic men's 20 km walk final | |
| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men 20 km: 1956 – 2020 Men 50 km: 1932 – 2020 Women 20 km: 2000 – 2020 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 20 km 1:18:46 Chen Ding (2012) 50 km 3:36:53 Jared Tallent (2012) |
| Women | 20 km 1:25:16 Qieyang Shenjie (2012) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men | 20 km  Massimo Stano (ITA)50 km  Dawid Tomala (POL) |
| Women | 20 km Antonella Palmisano (ITA) |
The first men's events came at the 1908 London Olympics, which featured 3500 m and 10-mile distances. A 10-Kilometer version was introduced at the 1912 Summer Olympics and it continued until 1952 (skipping three editions from 1928 to 1936). There was also a one-off 3000 m walk at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. The men's 20 km walk became the standard short distance for men in 1956 and has continued since then. The longer men's event over 50 km was first held at the 1932 Summer Olympics and was held continuously until the 2020 Olympics, except for a brief drop from the program in 1976 – the IAAF held a World Championship for the event in protest and it was restored.
The first women's event was introduced at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, 84 years after the first men's race. Held over 10 km for the first two editions, the women's event was extended to match the men's 20 km distance from the 2000 Sydney Olympics onwards. Women have never commonly competed internationally over 50 km, thus it was never proposed as an Olympic event – it was the last on the Olympic athletics programme in which men competed, but women did not have an equivalent. The 50 km is also the longest distance race for an Olympic athletics event.[1] In April 2023, a new Marathon Race Walking Mixed Relay event was announced for the 2024 Games, replacing the men's 50 km event.[2]
The Olympic records in racewalking were all broken at the 2012 London Olympics. In the 20 km walk Chen Ding holds the men's record of 1:18:46 hours, while Elena Lashmanova holds the women's mark of 1:25:02 hours. The men's 50 km record is 3:36:53 hours, set by Jared Tallent. Lashmanova's time was a world record – the first and so far only time a world record in racewalking has been set at an Olympic Games.[3] Robert Korzeniowski is the most successful Olympic racewalker, having won the 50 km three times as well as the 20 km walk. Three other athletes have won four Olympic walk medals: Ugo Frigerio won three gold medals and a bronze in early competitions, Volodymyr Holubnychy won two 20 km walk titles as well as a silver and a bronze, and Jared Tallent won a gold medal in the 50 km along with two silver and a bronze.
The 1906 Intercalated Games, now not considered an official Olympic event, was the first venue for racewalking under the Olympic banner. Poor technique and judging significantly affected the 1500 m walk event, to the point where a rematch over 3000 m was added at short notice and judged by Constantine I of Greece.
Race walking has been particularly affected by doping, with many Russian world and Olympic champions testing positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs.[4][5]
Medal summary edit
Men's 20 km walk edit
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volodymyr Holubnychy |  Soviet Union (URS) |
1960–1972 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Jefferson Pérez |  Ecuador (ECU) |
1996–2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Maurizio Damilano | Italy (ITA) |
1980–1988 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Peter Frenkel |  East Germany (GDR) |
1972–1976 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Wang Zhen |  China (CHN) |
2012–2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | Hans-Georg Reimann | East Germany (GDR) |
1972–1976 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) |
3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Italy (ITA) |
3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 |  Mexico (MEX) |
2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | China (CHN) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | East Germany (GDR) |
1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 |  Russia (RUS) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Ecuador (ECU) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Spain (ESP) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 9 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Poland (POL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 |  Australia (AUS) |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 13 |  Japan (JPN) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 |  Canada (CAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 United Team of Germany (EUA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Guatemala (GUA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Women's 20 km walk edit
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liu Hong | China (CHN) |
2012–2020 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Kjersti Plätzer |  Norway (NOR) |
2000–2008 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Lü Xiuzhi | China (CHN) |
2012–2016 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medals by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China (CHN) |
3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Russia (RUS) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Italy (ITA) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Greece (GRE) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Norway (NOR) |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Mexico (MEX) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Colombia (COL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Australia (AUS) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Spain (ESP) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Defunct distances edit
Men's 3000 m walk edit
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Antwerp |
 Ugo Frigerio (ITA)
|
George Parker (AUS)
|
 Richard Remer (USA)
|
Men's 3500 m walk edit
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
George Larner (GBR)
|
Ernest Webb (GBR)
|
 Harry Kerr (ANZ)
|
Men's 10 km edit
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 Stockholm |
George Goulding Canada
|
Ernest Webb Great Britain
|
Fernando Altimani Italy
|
| 1920 Antwerp |
Ugo Frigerio Italy
|
Joseph Pearman United States
|
Charles Gunn Great Britain
|
| 1924 Paris |
Ugo Frigerio Italy
|
Gordon Goodwin Great Britain
|
Cecil McMaster South Africa
|
| 1928–1936 | not included in the Olympic program | ||
| 1948 London |
John Mikaelsson Sweden
|
Ingemar Johansson Sweden
|
Fritz Schwab Switzerland
|
| 1952 Helsinki |
John Mikaelsson Sweden
|
Fritz Schwab Switzerland
|
Bruno Junk Soviet Union
|
Men's 10 miles edit
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
George Larner (GBR)
|
Ernest Webb (GBR)
|
Edward Spencer (GBR)
|
Men's 50 km walk edit
Multiple medalists edit
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Korzeniowski | Poland (POL) |
1996–2004 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Jared Tallent | Australia (AUS) |
2008–2016 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | John Ljunggren |  Sweden (SWE) |
1948–1960 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Abdon Pamich | Italy (ITA) |
1960–1964 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Hartwig Gauder | East Germany (GDR) |
1980–1988 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | Ronald Weigel | East Germany (GDR) Germany (GER) |
1988–1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Denis Nizhegorodov | Russia (RUS) |
2004–2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8 | Larry Young |  United States (USA) |
1968–1972 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medals by country edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland (POL) |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Great Britain (GBR) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Italy (ITA) |
3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | East Germany (GDR) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Sweden (SWE) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | Soviet Union (URS) |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Australia (AUS) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Mexico (MEX) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  New Zealand (NZL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Slovakia (SVK) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Unified Team (EUN) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| West Germany (FRG) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Russia (RUS) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 14 |  Latvia (LAT) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 |  Hungary (HUN) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Spain (ESP) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 18 | China (CHN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 20 | United States (USA) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 21 | Germany (GER) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Ireland (IRL) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Japan (JPN) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women's 10 km edit
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Barcelona |
Chen Yueling China
|
Yelena Nikolayeva Unified Team
|
Li Chunxiu China
|
| 1996 Atlanta |
Yelena Nikolayeva Russia
|
Elisabetta Perrone Italy
|
Wang Yan China
|
Intercalated Games edit
The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.[6]
Two walking events were held on the track at the 1906 Games: a men's 1500 m walk and a men's 3000 m walk. The first final to be held was the shorter distance. American George Bonhag, an absolute walking novice who had competed in the 5-mile run, came away as the winner after Canada's Don Linden, the eventual runner-up, had given basic technical advice to allow him to compete.[7]
The 3000 m walk was held two days later as a last minute addition to the athletics programme, which was approved and also adjudicated by Constantine I of Greece after the dissatisfaction with the initial race. The entire walking field, minus Bonhag and Linden, was rearranged for the competition. Britain's Robert Wilkinson and Austria's Eugen Spiegler were again disqualified in the final stages for running, leaving Hungary's György Sztantics as the winner by a large margin.[8]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 Athens |
 George Bonhag (USA)
|
 Don Linden (CAN)
|
 Konstantinos Spetsiotis (GRE)
|
| 1906 Athens |
 György Sztantics (HUN)
|
 Hermann Müller (GER)
|
Georgios Saridakis (GRE)
|
References edit
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 1,500 metres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 3,000 metres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 3,500 metres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 10 kilometres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 10 mile Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 20 kilometres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Men's 50 kilometres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Women's 10 kilometres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Athletics Women's 20 kilometres Walk Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-19.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
- ^ 50 Kilometres Race Walk. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- ^ "New Olympic marathon race walk mixed relay for Paris 2024 revealed". www.insidethegames.biz. 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Mulkeen, Jon (2012-08-11). Lashmanova sets 20km Race Walk World record in London!. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- ^ Wilder, Charly (16 June 2015). "Where Racewalking is King, the Antidoping Officials Are Busy". The New York Times.
- ^ "Banned Russian race walking coach still working with athletes, official says". Reuters. 24 January 2020.
- ^ 1906 Athina Summer Games. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- ^ Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's 1,500 metres Walk. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
- ^ Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's 3,000 metres Walk. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-21.
External links edit
- IAAF 20 kilometres walk homepage
- IAAF 50 kilometres walk homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
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