Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
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.
The Women's 20 km race walk event at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 7 in the streets of Helsinki with the start at 11:35h local time, and the goal line situated in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Russia's Olimpiada Ivanova won the race in a world record time of 1:25:41 hours.
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.
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.
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 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic athletics event that is competed by both men and women. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it.
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 Women's 20 km Walk event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held throughout the city of Berlin on August 16, beginning and ending at the Brandenburg Gate.
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.
Russia competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.
Italy competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu, South Korea.
Saransk is one of the major sport centers in Volga region because of the conditions made for the development of amateur and professional sports. In the city there are such large sport facilities as the Republican Sports Palace, the Ice Palace, the Sport Complex "Mordovia", Leonid Arkaev Sports Center, sport and health clubs, as well as gyms. In Mordovia there is a great number of sports schools, training outstanding athletes. Mordovia is famous also for Olympic champions such as Aleksey Mishin (wrestler), Denis Nizhegorodov, Valeriy Borchin, Olga Kaniskina and many world and Russian champions in various sports.
Tatyana Vasilyevna Kalmykova is a female Russian race walker. She represented Russia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and competed in the women's 20 km race walk, along with her teammates Tatyana Sibileva and Olga Kaniskina, who eventually won the gold medal for this event. In spite of tumultuous rains, Kalmykova did not hinder her chances of racing around a 20 km walk; however, she received a final warning for not following the proper form during the 14 km lap, and was subsequently disqualified.
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.
Italy competed at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics from 10 to 18 August in Moscow, Russia. On 23 July 2013 the President of the FIDAL Alfio Giomi announced during the event which took place in Agosto Azzurro in the main hall of CONI that 59 Italian athletes would participate in the world championships in Moscow.
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.
