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.
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.
Vladimir Alekseevich Kanaykin is a Russian race walker.
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 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.
The athletics competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held during the last 10 days of the Games, on 3–12 August. Track and field events took place at the Olympic Stadium in east London. The road events, however, started and finished on The Mall in central London.
The men's 50 kilometres race walk at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held on 11 August on a route along The Mall and Constitution Hill. The event was marred by the disqualification of all three Russian athletes due to doping violations.
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 2012 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, was a summer multi-sport event held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August. A total of 10,768 athletes from 204 nations participated in 302 events in 26 sports across 39 different disciplines.
Qieyang Shijie, also known as Qieyang Shenjie or Choeyang Kyi; is a Chinese race walker. She was born in Haiyan, Haibei T.A.P, Qinghai province, and her family are Tibetan herders. She won gold medal in the Women's 20 km walk race in 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She is the first ethnic Tibetan to compete and win a medal in the Olympics. After winning the medal, Qieyang Shijie said she was most grateful to her coach. Originally she won a bronze medal, but after Russia's Olga Kaniskina was disqualified in March 2016 for doping, she was awarded the silver medal, and with the subsequent disqualification of Elena Lashmanova she was promoted to gold. She also finished in 5th place at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Qieyang Shijie finished 7th at 2020 Summer Olympics.
Elena Anatolyevna Lashmanova is a Russian race walker. In March 2022, she received a two-year ban, retroactive to March 2021, with all of her results disqualified from February 18, 2012, to January 3, 2014, disqualified for doping use.
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.
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.
The women's 20 kilometres walk at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held on 19 August on a route along Pontal.
The women's 20 kilometres race walk at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 28 August.
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.
