Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic Games, the championships represents the highest level of senior international outdoor athletics competition for track and field athletics globally, including marathon running and race walking. Separate World Championships are held by World Athletics for certain other outdoor events, including cross-country running and half-marathon, as well as indoor and age-group championship.
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.
The World Athletics Race Walking Tour is a racewalking series organised by World Athletics. Athletes accumulate points in specific race walk meetings during the season. Performances in 10 kilometres race walk, 20 kilometres race walk and 50 kilometres race walk count towards athlete's final scores. Since 2011, racewalking performances at the World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games count towards the series. Women have competed in the 50 km distance since 2018.
The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athletes wishing to compete at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games or World Championships. The event is conducted by Athletics Australia.
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 ninth edition of the European Race Walking Cup was held on the roads of Olhão, Portugal on 21 May 2011. The event was jointly organised by the Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo and the European Athletics Association. A total of 222 athletes from 26 countries participated in the competition.
The African Race Walking Championships was a quadrennial race walking competition for athletes representing countries from Africa, organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). It was established in 1999 and has featured races for senior men and women. The 2005 edition was held jointly with the African Combined Events Championships. The 2009 edition also featured junior events. The 2013 men's event was part of the IAAF World Race Walking Challenge.
Anežka Drahotová is a Czech athletics competitor in racewalking, middle-distance running, and steeplechase, as well an international-level cyclist. She is the Czech record holder for the 20 kilometres walk and the 10 km track walk.
Racewalking 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 race walk, and a men's 50 kilometres race walk. The races were held in a final-only format.
Marion Fawkes is a British former racewalker. She was the first official female world champion in racewalking, through her victory at the 1979 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. She broke four world records in her career.
Siv Gustavsson[nb] is a Swedish former racewalking athlete. She was the gold medallist at the 1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, making her the second ever female world champion in the sport.
The 2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships was the 27th edition of the global team racewalking competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held in Rome, Italy from 7 to 8 May 2016. It was the first edition of the tournament under its new name, having previously been known as the IAAF World Race Walking Cup since 1989.
Ann Jansson is a Swedish former racewalking athlete.
2019 Ukrainian Athletics Championships among the athletes of the senior age category was held from 21 to 23 August in Lutsk at Avanhard Stadium.
The Nordic–Baltic Under-23 Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor combined track and field events competition for athletes under-20 from the Nordic countries – and the Baltic states. It is typically held over two days in July or August in even-numbered years. Athletes must be 22 years of age or younger by December 31 of the year the championship is held. The hosting of the event is currently limited to the Nordic nations.
The 2019 Russian Athletics Championships was held from 24–27 July at the Olympic Stadium in Cheboksary. It was the seventh time that the capital of the Chuvash Republic hosted the event. The four-day competition featured 40 track and field events and was attended by 731 athletes from 72 regions of the country.
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.
The Balkan Race Walking Championships is an annual racewalking competition between athletes from member nations of Balkan Athletics. The championships features six individual races: senior men's and women's 20 kilometres race walks, men's and women's under-20 10 kilometres race walks, an under-18 boys' 10 km walk, and an under-18 girls' 5 kilometres race walk. Each individual race also has a national team component with points awarded based on finishing time, which are then totalled to form an overall team score for the championships.
