The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by World Athletics. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. The first women's edition of the event happened in 1979. It was formerly known as the Lugano Cup after the city that hosted the first event, then became the IAAF World Race Walking Cup until 2016 and then IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships until 2018. In 2004, a junior division was added for athletes between 16 and 20. Since 2008 it has been a constituent meeting of the World Athletics Challenge – Race Walking.
Elisa Rigaudo is an Italian race walker from Cuneo.
Sergey Alexandrovich Kirdyapkin is a Russian race walker. He was stripped of the 2012 Olympic gold medal in the 50K walk, by decision of the Court of Arbitration published 24 March 2016, due to doping violations. Due to these doping violations, he was given a three-year-and-two-month ban from athletic competition, backdated to 15 October 2012, allowing him time to still qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. However, Russia did not compete in athletics at the 2016 Olympics, due to the suspension of the governing body, the IAAF, due to widespread doping.
Valeriy Viktorovich Borchin is a race walker from Russia who won the 2008 Olympic gold medal and was World champion over the 20 km distance. His World Championship was retroactively stripped in 2015 due to doping.
Olga Nikolayevna Kaniskina is a Russian coach and former race walker. She won the silver medal in the 20 km walk at the 2006 European Championships, the gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, and the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also won the 20 km walk at the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, setting a Championship record of 1:25:42. She was disqualified from several years of competition due to doping.
Vladimir Alekseevich Kanaykin is a Russian race walker.
Jared Tallent is an Australian race walker and Olympic gold medallist in the 50 km walk from London in 2012. He is a four-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Championship medallist and holds the current Olympic record in the 50 km walk.
Liu Hong is a Chinese race walker. She is the world record holder over the Olympic 20 km distance with a time of 1:24:38 hours, set in 2015.
The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held throughout the city of Berlin on August 15, beginning and ending at the Brandenburg Gate.
The 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Saransk, Russia, on 12–13 May 2012. The track of the Cup runs in the central streets of the city. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results was given for the IAAF.
Anisya Byasyrovna Kirdyapkina is a Russian race walker. She is married to Sergey Kirdyapkin, who is also a racewalker. She was discovered by the race walking coach Konstantin Nacharkin at the age of nine. She met her future husband through race walking and they were married when she was 18. As of 2014, they shared a coach, Viktor Chegin.
The women's 20 kilometres walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held on 11 August on a route along The Mall and Constitution Hill.
The Women's 20 kilometres race walk event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held on a loop course starting and finishing at Gukchae - bosang Memorial Park on August 31.
The Men's 20 kilometres race walk event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 28 on a loop course starting and finishing at Gukchae-bosang Memorial Park in the center of Daegu. Forty-six men started the competition and 27 countries were represented.
Italy has participated in all editions of the World Athletics Championships, held since the first edition of 1983 World Athletics Championships, winning 51 podiums, including 13 world titles, 18 silver medals and 20 bronze medals.
The Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior em Marcha Atlética is an annual racewalking competition that takes place in April in Rio Maior in Portugal. It is an elite level event which features a men's and a women's race in the 20 kilometres race walk.
Viktor Mikhailovich Chegin is a banned Russian racewalking coach. He was responsible for training all three athletes who swept the medals at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics: Olga Kaniskina, Valeriy Borchin and Sergey Kirdyapkin. His athletes Elena Lashmanova and Sergey Kirdyapkin won gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with Kaniskina earning a silver medal. Former and banned world record holders Lashmanova, Denis Nizhegorodov and Sergey Morozov are all coached by Chegin.
Sun Huanhuan is a Chinese female racewalking athlete who competes in the 20 kilometres race walk event. She received a silver medal retroactively at the World Championships in Athletics in 2013 after the original gold and silver medallists were disqualified for doping.
The IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final was an annual racewalking competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It served as the culmination of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge series from 2007 to 2012. It featured a men's and a women's 20 kilometres race walk. Any athlete could compete at the final, though to be eligible for the series prize money pot of US$202,000 a minimum of four finishes at Race Walking Challenge meetings held that year was required. If the points winner of the Race Walking Challenge series did not compete at the final, their prize money was halved.
Tatyana Nikolaevna Mineyeva is a Russian female former racewalking athlete. She won age category titles at international level, including the World Junior Championships in 2008, the European Race Walking Cup in 2009, and the European Athletics U23 Championships in 2011. She won a 20 kilometres race walk national title in 2011 and represented her country at senior level at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and 2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. She won the 2009 IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final race.
